
I'RKSKNTIOI) HY 




es & Co., New York. 



Euatell i Struth^Tt, Bng't H. Y., 








: u^^c-^ J 




GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HISTORICAL SCENES. 



BARNES'S ONE-TERM HISTORY. 



Brief History 



United States. 




PLYMOUTH ROCK. 



A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, 

NEW YORK, CHICAGO. AND NEW ORLEANS. 






£V THE AUTHOR OF THIS WORK. 



BARNES'S BRIEF HISTORY OF FRANCE 
for the use of Schools and Families. Illustrated. i2mo. 



BARNES'S BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 
ANCIENT PEOPLES, for Schools and Family 
Reading. Illustrated. 

BARNES'S BRIEF HISTORY OF THE 
NA/'ORLD, for Schools and Families. (In preparation.) 

BARNES'S POPULAR HISTORY OF THE 
UNITED STATES— "Om? Hundred Years of 
American Independence"' — with an Introduction, bring- 
ing the history from the earliest times. For private 
reading, and reference in Schools and Families. Royal 
8vo. Illustrated. 



Gift 
EdMn L. Whitney 

DEC 8- 1938 



Copyright, 1871, 1879, i82°i by -A- ^- Barnes if Co. 



BRIEF HIST. 



PREFACE. 



THE experience of all teachers testifies to the 
lamentable deficiency in historical knowledge 
among their pupils ; not that children dislike 
the incidents and events of history, for, indeed, they 
prefer them to the improbable tales which now form 
the bulk of their reading, but because the books 
are " dry." Those which are interesting are apt to 
be lengthy, and the mind consequently becomes 
confused by the multitude of details, while the brief 
ones often contain merely the dry bones of fact, 
uninviting and unreal. An attractive book which 
can be mastered in a single term, is the necessity 
of our schools. The present work is an attempt to 
meet this want in American histories. In its prepa- 
ration there has been an endeavor to develop the 
following principles ; 

1. To precede each Epoch by questions and a map, 
so that the pupil may become familiar with the loca- 
tion of the places named in the history he is about to 
study. 

2. To select only the most important events for the 
body of the text, and then, by foot-notes, to give 



VI PBEFACE. 

explanations, illustrations, minor events, anecdotes, 
&c. 

3. To classify the events under general topics, 
which are given in distinct type at the beginning of 
each paragraph ; thus impressing the leading idea on 
the mind of the pupil, enabling him to see at a glance 
the prominent points of the lesson, and especially 
adapting the book to that large and constantly in- 
creasing class of teachers, who require topical recita- 
tions. 

4. To select, in the description of each battle, some 
characteristic in which it differs from all other battles 
— its key-note, by which it can be recollected ; thus 
not only preventing a sameness, but giving to the 
pupil a point around which he may group information 
obtained from fuller descriptions and larger histories. 

5. To give only leading dates, and, as far as pos- 
sible, to associate them with each other, and thus 
assist the memory in their permanent retention ; ex- 
perience having proved the committing of many 
dates to be the most barren and profitless of all 
school attainments. 

6. To give each campaign as a whole, rather than 
to mingle several by presenting the events in chrono- 
logical order. Whenever, by the operations of one 
army being dependent on those of another, this plan 
might fail to show the inter-relation of events, to pre- 
vent such a result by so arranging the campaigns that 
the supporting event shall precede the supported one. 

7. To give something of the philosophy of history, 
the causes and effects of events, and, in the case of 



PEEFACE. Yll 

great battles, the objects sought to be attained ; thus 
leading pupils to a thoughtful study of history, and to 
an appreciation of the fact that events hinge upon 
each other. 

8. To insert, in foot-notes, sketches of the more 
important personages, especially the Presidents, and 
thereby enable the student to form some estimate of 
their characters. 

9. To use language, a clause or sentence of which 
cannot be selected or committed as an answer to a 
question, but such as, giving the idea vividly, will 
yet compel the pupil to express it in his own words. 

10. To assign to each Epoch its fair proportion of 
space ; not expanding the earlier ones at the expense 
of the later*; but giving due prominence to the events 
nearer our own time, especially to the Civil War. 

11. To write a National history by carefully avoid- 
ing all sectional or partisan views. 

12. To give the new States the attention due to 
their importance by devoting space to each one as it 
is admitted into the Union, and becomes a feature in 
the grand national development. 

13. To lead to a more independent use of the book, 
and the adoption of the topical mode of recitation and 
study, as far as possible, by placing the questions at 
the close of the work, rather than at the bottom of 
each page. 

14. To furnish, under the title of Historical Recrea- 
tions, a set of review questions which may serve to 
awaken an interest in the class and induce a more 
comprehensive study of the book. 



Till 



PREFACE, 



Finally — this work is offered to American youth in 
the confident belief that as they study the wonderful 
history of their native land, they will learn to prize 
their birthright more highly, and treasure it more 
carefully. Their patriotism must be kindled when 
they come to see how slowly, yet how gloriously, 
this tree of liberty has grown, what storms have 
wrenched its boughs, what sweat of toil and blood 
has moistened its roots, what eager eyes have watched 
every out-springing bud, what brave hearts have de- 
fended it, loving it even unto death. A heritage thus 
sanctified by the heroism and devotion of the fathers 
cannot but elicit the choicest care and tenderest love 
of the sons. 




MOLNT VERNON. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

introduction; 9 

FIRST EPOCH. 
EARLY DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS, ... 19 

SECOND EPOCH. 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLONIES, 45 

THIRD EPOCH. 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 101 

FOURTH EPOCH. 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES, . . ... 147 

FIFTH EPOCH. 
THE CIVIL WAR, .215 

SIXTH EPOCH. 
RECONSTRUCTION AND PASSING EVENTS, . . .281 



APPENDIX. 

QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE, i 

HISTORICAL RECREATIONS, xix 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, sxv 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, . . . xxviii 

TABLES, xUi 

INDEX, xlv 



A SUGGESTION TO TEACHERS. 



THE following method of using this work has been successfully 
employed by many teachers. At the commencement of the 
study let each pupil be required to draw an outline map of North 
America, at least i8 x 24 inches in size. This should contain only 
physical features, viz., coast-line, mountains, lakes, and rivers. If 
desired, they may be marked very faintly at first, and shaded and 
darkened when discovered in the progress of the history. As the 
pupils advance in the text let them mark on their maps, day by day, 
the places discovered, the settlements, battles, political divisions, etc., 
with their dates. They will thus see the country growing afresh under 
their ha.nd and eye, and the geography and the history will be indis- 
solubly linked. At the close of the term their maps will show what 
they have done, and each name, with its date, will recall the history 
which clusters around it. 

■ Recitations and examinations may be conducted by having a map 
drawn upon the blackboard with colored crayons, and requiring the 
class to fill in the names and dates, describing the historical facts as 
they proceed. In turn, during review, the pupil should be able, when 
a date or place is pointed out, to state the event associated with it. 

It will be noticed that the book is written on an exact plan and 
method of arrangement. The topics of the epochs, chapters, sections 
and paragraphs form a perfect analysis ; thus, in each Presidential 
Administration, the order of subjects is uniform, viz.: Domestic 
AflTairs, Foreign Affairs, and Political Parties — the subsidiary topics 
being grouped under these heads. The teacher is therefore com- 
mended to place on the board the analysis of each Epoch, and conduct the 
recitation frotu that without the use of the book in the class. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, a. d. 1872, by A. S. Barnes & Co., in the 
Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington 




first settled America? — It 

was probably first peoijled from Asia, 
the birth-place of man. In what way 
this happened, we do not know. Chi- 
nese vessels, coasting along the shore according to the cus- 
tom of early voyagers, may have been driven by storms to 
cross the Pacific Ocean, while the crews were thankful to 
escape a watery grave by settling an unknown country : 
or, parties wandering across Behring Strait in search of ad- 
venture, and finding on this side a pleasant land, may have 
resolved to make it their home. 

American Antiquities. — In various parts of the con- 
tinent, remains are found of the people who settled the 
country in prehistoric times. Through the Mississippi val- 
ley, from the Lakes to the Gulf, extends a succession of de- 



10 



INTRODUCTION. 



fensive earthworks. * Similar ruins are found in various other 
sections of the United States. The largest forest trees are 
often found growing upon them. The Indians have no tra- 
dition as to the origin of these structures. They generally 
crown steep hills, and consist of embankments, ditches, &c., 
indicating considerable acquaintance with military science. 
At Newark, Ohio, a fortification exists which covers an area 
of more than two miles square, and has over two miles of 
embankment from two to twenty feet high. 

Mounds, seemingly constructed as great altars for religious 
purposes or as monuments, are also numerous. One, oppo- 
site St. Louis, covers eight acres of ground, and is ninety feet 

high. There are said to be 10,000 
of these mounds in Ohio alone. 

A peculiar kind of earthwork 
has the outline of gigantic men 
or animals. An embankment in 
Adams County, Ohio, represents 
very accurately a serpent 1000 feet 
long. Its body winds with grace- 
ful curves, and in its wide-extended 
jaws lies a figure which the animal 
seems about to swallow. In Mex- 
THE SERPENT MOUND. Ico aud Pcru, stlU morc wonder- 

ful remains have been discovered. They consist not alone 
of defensive works, altars, and monuments, but of idols, 
ruined temples, aqueducts, bridges, and paved roads. 

The Mound Builders is the name given to the people 
who erected the mounds of North America. They seem 
to have emigrated to Central America, and there to have 

* It is a singular fact that banks of earth grassed over are more enduring than 
any other work of man. The grassy mounds near Nineveh and Babylon have 
remained unchanged for centuries. Meantime massive buildings of stone have been 
erected, have served long generations, and have crumbled to rain. 




THE INDIANS. 



11 




MOUNDS NEAR LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. 

developed a high civilization. They built cities, wove cotton, 
worked in gold, silver, and copper, labored in the fields, and 
had regular governments. 

The Indians who were found on this continent east of 
the Mississippi, by the first European settlers, did not exceed 
200,000 in number. In Mexico, Peru, and the Indies, 
however, there was an immense population. The Indians 
were the successors of the Mound Builders, and were by far 
their inferiors in civilization. We know not why the ancient 
race left, nor whence the Indians came. It is supposed that 
the former were driven southward by the savage tribes from 
the north. 

Indian Characteristics.* — Arts and Inventions. — The 
Indian has been well termed the " Eed Man of the Forest." 
He built no cities, no ships, no churches, no school-houses. 
He constructed only temporary bark wigwams and canoes. 
He made neither roads nor bridges, but followed foot-paths 



* This description applies to the Indians inhabiting the present limits of the 
United States. 



12 INTE0DUCTI02S". 

through the forest, and swam the streams. His highest art 
was expended in a simple bow and arrow. 

Progress and Education. — He made no advancement, but 
each son emulated the prowess of his father in the hunt and 
the fight. The hunting-ground and the battle-field em- 
braced everything of real honor or value. So the son was 




INDIAN LIFE. 



educated to throw the tomahawk, shoot the arrow, and catch 
fish with the spear. He knew nothing of books, paper, 
writing, or history. * 

Domestic Life. — The Indian had no cow, or domestic 
beast of burden. He regarded all labor as degrading, and fit 
only for women. His squaw, therefore, built his wigwam, 

* Some tribes and families seem to have been further advanced than others, and 
to have instructed their children, especially those young men who hoped to become 
chiefs, in the history and customs of their nation. 



THE INDIANS. 



13 



cut his wood, and carried his burdens when he journeyed. 
While he hunted or fished, she cleared the land for his corn 
by burning down the trees, scratched the ground with a 
crooked stick or dug it with a clam-shell, and dressed skins 
for his clothing. She cooked his food by dropping hot 
stones into a tight willow basket containing materials for 
soup. The leavings of her lord's feast sufficed for her, and 
the coldest place in the wigwaih was her seat. 

Disposition. — In war the Indian was brave and alert, but 
cruel and revengeful, preferring treachery and cunning to 





- k'5 



^^^UJr 




SPECIMEN OF INDIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.* 

open battle. At home, he was lazy, improvident, and an 
inveterate gambler. He delighted in finery and trinkets, 
and decked his unclean person with paint and feathers. His 
grave and haughty demeanor repelled the stranger ; but he 

* This cut represents a species of picture-writing occasionally used by the Indians. 
Some Indian guides wished to inform their comrades that a company of fourteen 
whites and two Indians had spent the night at that point. Nos. 9, 10 indicate the 
white soldiers and their ai-ms ; No. 1 is the captain, with a sword ; No. 2 the secre- 
tary, with the book ; No. 3 the geologist, with a hammer ; Nos. 7, 8 are the guides, 
without hats ; Nos. 11, 12 show what they ate in camp ; Nos. 13, 14, 15 indicate how 
many fires they made. 



14 



INTEODUCTION. 



was grateful for favors, and his wigwam stood hospitably 
open to the poorest and meanest of his tribe. 

Endurance. — He could endure great fatigue, and in his 
expeditions often lay without shelter in the severest weather. 
It was his glory to bear the most horrible tortures without 
a sign of suffering. 

Religion. — If he had any ideas of a Supreme Being, 
they were vague and degraded. His dream of a Heaven was 
of hapj)y hunting-grounds or of gay feasts, where his dog 




ROVING INDIANS Ot THE PRESENT TIME 



should join in the dance. He worshipped no idols, but 
peopled all nature with spirits, which dwelt not only in 
birds, beasts and reptiles, but also in lakes, rivers and water- 
falls. As he believed that these had power to help or harm 
men, he lived m constant fear of offending them. He 
apologized, therefore, to the animals he killed, and made 
solemn promises to fishes that their bones should be re- 
spected. He placed great stress on dreams, and his camp 
swarmed with sorcerers and fortune-tellers. 



THE ISrOKTHMEN". 



15 



The Indian of the Present.— Such was the Indian two 
hundi-ed years ago, and such he is to-day. He opposes the 
encroachments of the settler, and the building of railroads. 
But he cannot stop the tide of immigration. Unless he can 
he induced to give up his roving habits, and to cultivate the 
soil, he is doomed to destruction. It is to be earnestly hoped 
that the red man may yet be Christianized, and taught the 
arts of industry and peace. 

The Northmen (inhabitants of Norway and Sweden) 
claim to have been the original discoverers of America. Ac- 
cording to their traditions, this 
continent was seen first about the 
year 1000, by one Biorne, who 
had been driven to sea by a tem- 
pest. Afterward other adven- 
turers made successful voyages, 
established settlements, and bar- 
tered with the natives. Snorre, 
son of one of these settlers, is 
said to have been the first child 
born of European parents upon 
our shore.* The Northmen 
claim to have explored the coast as far south as Florida. 
How much credit is to be given to these traditions is 
uncertain. Many historians reject them, while others think 
there are traces of the Northmen yet remaining, such as the 
old tower at Newport, R. I.,f and the singular inscriptions 
on the rock at Dighton, Mass. Admitting, however, the 

* Snorre was the founder of an illustrious family. One of his descendants is said 
to have been Albert Thorwaldsen, the great Danish sculptor of the present century. 
The beautiful photographs of Thorwaldsen's " Day," " Night," and " The Seasons," 
which hang in so many American parlors, thus acquire a new interest by being 
linked with the pioneer boy born on New England shores so many centuries ago. 

t See " The Old Mill at Newport " in Scribner's Magazine, March, 1879 ; and the 
Magazine of American History, September, 1879. 




TOWER AT NEWPORT. 



16 INTKODUCTION^. 

claims of the Northmen, the fact is barren of all results. 
No permanent settlements were made, the route hither was 
lost, and even the existence of the continent was forgotten. 
The true history of this country begins with its discovery 
by Columbus in 1492. It naturally divides itself into six 
great epochs. 

FIRST EPOCH. 

EARLY DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 

This epoch extends from the discovery of America in 1492 
to the settlement at Jamestown, Va., in 1607. During this 
period various European nations were exploring the con- 
tinent, and making widely scattered settlements. 

SECOND EPOCH. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COLONIES. 

This epoch extends from the settlement at Jamestown, 
Va., in 1607, to the breaking out of the Eevolutionary 
War in 1775. During this period the scattered settlements 
grew into thirteen flourishing colonies, subject to Great 
Britain. 

THIRD EPOCH. 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

This epoch extends from the breaking out of the Revolu- 
tionary War in 1775, to the adoption of the Constitution in 
1787. During this period the colonies threw off the govern- 
ment of England, and established their independence. 

FOURTH EPOCH. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 

This epoch extends from the adoption of the Constitution 
in 1787, to the breaking out of the Civil War in 1861. Dur- 



THE GENEEAL DIVISIONS. 17 

ing this period the States increased in number from thirteen 
to thirty -four, and grew in population and wealth until the 
United States became the most prosperous nation in the world. 

FIFTH EPOCH. 

THE CIVIL ^A;^AR. 

This epoch extends from the breaking out of the Civil 
War in 1861, to the surrender of Lee's army in 1865. Dur- 
ing this period a gigantic strife was carried on between the 
Northern and the Southern States, the former struggling for 
the perpetuation of the Union, and the latter for its division. 

SIXTH EPOCH. 

RECONSTRUCTION, AND PASSING EVENTS. 

This epoch extends from the close of the Civil War to the 
present time. During this period the seceding States have 
been restored to their rights in the Union, peace has been 
fully established, and many interesting events have occurred. 



REFERENCES FOR READING. 

The following works will be found valuable for reference and additional informa- 
tion. It is not the intention to give a catalogue of U. S. Histories and biographies 
of celebrated Americans, but simply to name a few works which will serve to inter- 
est a class and furnish material for collateral reading. Bancroft's and Hildreth's 
Histories, Irving's Life of Washington, and Sparks's American Biographies, are 
supposed to be in every school library, and to be familiar to every teacher. They 
are therefore not referred to in this list. The Lives of the Presidents, the Histories 
of the different States, and all works of local value are useful, and should be secured, 
if possible. The Magazine of American History will be found serviceable for refer- 
ence on disputed points of American History and Biography. Holmes's American 
Annals is invaluable, and the early volumes of the North American Review contain 
a great deal of interesting historical matter. The American Cyclopoedia and Thomas's 



18 



IKTEODUCTIOIS". 



Dictionary of Biosjaphy are exceedingly serviceable in preparing essays and famish- 
ing anecdotes. With a little effort a poem, a good prose selection, or a composition 
on some historical topic may be offered by the class each day to enliven the 
recitation. 

Beamish' s Discovery of America by the Northmen. — Bradford's American An- 
tiquities. — Baldwin's A ncient A merica. — Sguier and Davis's A merican A ntiquities 
and Discoveries in the West. — Sinding's History of Scandinavia. — Catlins North 
American Indians. — Thatcher' s Indian Biography. — Stone's Life and Titnes of Red 
Jacket, and Life of Brandt. — Cooper's Leather Stocking Tales, — Morgan's League 
of the Iroquois. — Schoolcraft's Memoirs of Residefzce Among the Indians, and other 
works by the same author. — Foster's Prehistoric Races of the Uitited States of Amer- 
ica. — Bancroft' s Native Races. — Matthew's Behemoth, a Legend of the Mound 
Builders {Fiction'). — Lowell's Chippeiva Legend (Poetry). — Whittier's Bridal of Pen- 
nacook (Poetry). — Jones' s Mound-Builders of Tennessee. — Goodrich' s So-called Colutn- 
bus. — Ancient Monuments in America, Harper's Magazine, vol. 21. 



i!lfOTt?C^ 




A SPANISH CARAVEL. 

(From a drawing attributed to Columbus.) 




Jaxok Wtll; Vd. 



Copyright, 1579, bij A. i 




arnes & Co., New Ym-k. 



Jiuatdl .i Struihe's.Eim's N. Y. 



Epoch I 



EARLY DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 



T^^ EOGRAPHICAL Knowledge in 
the Fifteenth Century. — The peo- 
ple of Europe had then neyer heard 
of America. About that time, a great 
— desire for geographical knowledge 
was awakened. The compass and 
the astrolabe — an instrument for 
reckoning latitude — had been al- 
ready invented. Voyagers were no 
BALBOA. longer compelled to creep along the 

shore, but began to strike out boldly 
into the open sea. The art of printing had just come into 
use, and books of travel were eagerly read. 




Quesiions on the Geoffrapky of the First JEpocfi. — In the accompanying 
map there are no divisions of the continent, as none existed at that time. When 
they are called for in the following questions, the object is to test the pupil's geo- 
graphical knowledge. 

Locate the West Indies. San Salvador (now called Guanahani, gwah-nah-hah'-ne, 
and Cat Island). Cuba. Hispauiola or Hayti (hS-te, name given to the island in 1803 
by Dessalines. See Lipp. Gazetteer.) Newfoundland. Cape Breton. Roanoke 
Island. Manhattan Island. 

Descride the Orinoco River. Mississippi River. St. 
River. Ohio River. Colorado River. Colmnbia River, 
for Epoch V). 

Where is Labrador? Central America? Florida? 
CaUf ornia ? Oregon ? Peru ? 

Locate St. Augustine. Santa F6 (sahn-tah-fa). Now York. Montreal. Quebec. 
Albany. Jamestown. Port Royal. Isthmus of Darieu, Cape Henry. Cape Charles. 
Cape Cod. Chesapeake Bay, Hudson Bay, 



Lawrence River. James 
St. John's River (see map 

Mexico? New Mexico? 



20 



EPOCH I. 



[1474. 



Marco Polo and other adventurers returning from the East, 
told wonderful stories of the wealth of Asiatic cities. Genoa, 
Florence, and Venice, commanding the commerce of the 
Mediterranean, had become enriched by trade with the East. 
The costly shawls, spices, and silks of Persia and India were 
borne by caravans to the Ked Sea, thence on camels across 
the desert to the Nile, and lastly by ship over the Mediter- 
ranean to Europe. 

The great problem of the age was how to reach the East 

Indies by sea, and thus give a cheaper route to these rich 

products. 

Columbus* conceived that 

hy sailing luest he could reach 
the East Indies. He believed 
the earth to be round, which 
was then a novel idea. He, 
however, thought it much 
smaller than it really is, and 
that Asia extends much fur- 
ther round the world to the 
east than it does. Hence, he 
argued that by going a few 
hundred leagues west he would 




COLUMBUS. 



* Christopher Cohambus was bom in Genoa, Italy, 1435. He was trained for the 
sea from his childhood. Being the eldest of four children, and his father a poor 
wool-comber, mnch care devolved upon him. It is said that at thirty his hair was 
white from trouble and anxiety. His kind and loving disposition is proved by the 
fact that in his poorest days he saved part of his pittance to educate his young 
brothers and support his aged father. 

Columbus was determined, shrewd, and intensely religions. He believed and an- 
nounced himself to be divinely called to "carry the true faith into the uttermost 
parts of the earth." Inspired by this thought, no discouragement or contumely 
could drive him to despair utterly. It was eighteen years from the conception to the 
accomplishment of his plan. During all this time his life was a marvel of patience, 
and of brave devotion to his one purpose. 

His sorrows were many ; his triumph was brief. Evil men maligned him to Fer- 
dinand and Isabella. Disregarding their promise that he should be governor-general 
over all the lands he might discover, the king and queen sent out another governor, 
and by his order Columbus was sent home in chains ! No wonder that the whole 



1482.J COLUMBUS. 21 

touch the coast of Eastern Asia. * He was determined to try 
this new route, but was too poor to pay for the necessary 
ships, men, and provisions. 

Columbus at the Court of Portugal. — He accordingly 
laid his plan before King John of Portugal, who, being pleased 
with the idea, referred it to the geographers of his court. 
They pronounced it a visionary scheme. With a lurking 
feeling, however, that there might be truth in it, the king 
had the meanness to dispatch a vessel secretly to test the 
matter. The pilot had the charts of Columbus, but lacked 
his heroic courage. After sailing westward from Cape de 
Verde islands for a few days, and seeing nothing but a wide 
waste of wildly tossing waves, he returned, ridiculing the idea. 

Columbus at the Court of Spain. — Columbus, dis- 
heartened by this treachery, betook himself to Spain. During 
seven long years he importuned King Ferdinand for a reply. 
All this while he was regarded as a visionary fellow, and 
when he passed along the streets, even the children pointed 
to their foreheads and smiled. At last, the learned council 
declared the plan too foolish for further attention, f Turn- 
ing away sadly, Columbus determined to go to France. 

nation was shocked at such an indignity to such a man. It is sad to know that 
although Ferdinand and Isabella endeavored to soothe his wounded spirit by many 
attentions, they never restored to him his lawful rights. From fluent promises they 
passed at last to total neglect, and Columbus died a grieved and disappointed old man. 
At his request, his chains were buried with him, a touching memorial of Spanish 
ingratitude. 

* Several facts served to strengthen the faith of Columbus in the correctness of his 
theory. The Azores and the Cape de Verde islands were the most westerly lands 
then known. There had been washed on their shores by westerly winds, pieces of 
wood curiously carved, trees, and seeds of unknown species, and especially the 
bodies of two men of strange color and visage. 

t " It is absurd," said those wise men. " Who is so foolish as to believe that there 
are people on the other side of the world, walking with their heels upward, and their 
heads hanging down? And then, how can a ship get there? The torrid zone, 
through which thoymust pass, is a region of fire, where the very waves boil. And 
even if a ship could perchance get around there safely, how could it ever get back ? 
Can a ship sail up hill ? " All of which sounds very strange to us now, when hundreds 
of travelers make every year the entire circuit of the globe. 



2% EPOCH I. [1492' 

Columbus Successful. — His friends at the Spanish court, 
at this juncture, laid the matter before Queen Isabella, and she 
was finally won to his cause. The king remained indifferent, 
and pleaded the want of funds. The queen in her earnestness 
exclaimed, ' ' I pledge my jewels to raise the money. " But her 
sacrifice was not required. St. Angel, the court treasurer, 
advanced most of the money, and the friends of Columbus 
the remainder, — in all about 120,000, equal to six times that 
amount at the present day. Columbus had succeeded at last. 

Columbus's Equipment. — Though armed with the king's 
authority, Columbus obtained vessels and sailors with the 
greatest difficulty. The boldest seamen shrank from such a 
desperate undertaking. At last, three small vessels were 
manned ; the Pinta (peen'tah), Santa Maria (ma-re-ah), and 
Ninah (ne-nah). They sailed from Palos, Spain, Aug. 3, 1492. 

Incidents of the Voyage.— When the ships struck out 
boldly westward on the untried sea, and the sailors saw the 
last trace of land fade from their sight, many, even of the 
bravest, burst into tears. As they proceeded, their hearts 
were wrung by superstitious fears. To their dismay, the com- 
pass no longer pointed directly north, and they believed that 
they were coming into a region where the very laws of nature 
were changed. They came into the track of the trade-wind, 
which wafted them steadily westward. This, they were sure, 
was carrying them to destruction, for how could they ever re- 
turn against it ? Signs of land, such as flocks of birds and 
fresh, green plants, were often seen, and the clouds near 
the horizon assumed the look of land, but they disappeared, 
and only the broad ocean spread out before them as they 
advanced. The sailors, so often deceived, lost heart, and in- 
sisted upon returning home. Columbus, with wonderful tact 
and patience, explained all these appearances. But the more 
he argued, the louder became their murmurs. At last they 



I492-] COLUMBUS. 23 

secretly determined to throw him oyerboard. Although he 
knew their feelings, he did not waver, but declared that he 
would proceed till the enterprise was accomplished. 

Soon, signs of land silenced their murmurs. A staff arti- 
ficially carved, and a branch of thorn with berries floated near. 
All was now eager expectation. In the evening, Columbus 
beheld a light rising and falling in the distance, as of a torch 
borne by one walking. Later at night, the Joyful cry of 
"Land!'' rang out from the Pinta. In the morning the 
shore, green with tropical verdure, lay smiling before them. 

The Landing. — Columbus, dressed in a splendid military 
suit of scarlet embroidered with gold, and followed by a reti- 
nue of his officers and men bearing banners, stepped upon the 
new world, Friday, Oct. 12, 1492. He threw himself upon 
his knees, kissed the earth, and with tears of joy gave thanks 
to God. He then formally planted the cross, and took pos- 
session of the country in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. 

The wondering natives, who crowded the shore, gazed on 
them with awe. They supposed the ships to be huge white- 
winged birds, and the Spaniards to have come from heaven. 
How sadly and how soon these simple people were undeceived ! 

Further Discoveries. — Columbus found the land to be 
an island, which he named St. Salvador. He supposed that 
he had reached the islands lying off the eastern coast of India, 
and he therefore called the dark-hued natives, Indians. 
Careful inquiries were also made concerning the rich pro- 
ducts of the East, such as spices, precious stones, and 
especially gold. The simple people had only a few golden 
ornaments. These they readily bartered for hawks' bells. 
Cuba, Hayti, and other islands were discovered and visited 
in the vain hope of securing Oriental treasures. Columbus 
even sent a deputation into the interior of Cuba to a famous 
chief, supposing him to be the great king of Tartary ! 



24 



EPOCH I, 



[1493. 



At last, urged by his crew, he rehnquished the search, and 
turned his vessels homeward. 

His Reception, on his return, was flattering in the ex- 
treme. The whole nation took a holiday. His appearance 
was hailed with shouts and the ringing of bells. The king 
and queen were dazzled by their new and sudden acquisition. 
As Columbus told them of the beautiful land he had discov- 
ered, its brilliant birds, its tropical forests, its delicious cli- 
mate, and above all, its natives waiting to be converted to 
the Christian faith, they sank upon their knees, and gave 
God thanks for such a signal triumph. 

Subsequent Voyages. — 
Columbus afterward made three 
voyages. In 1498 he discovered 
the mainland, near the Orinoco 
Eiver. He never, however, lost 
the delusion that it was the 
eastern coast of Asia, and died 
ignorant of the grandeur of his 
discovery. 

How the Continent was 

named. — Americus Vesputius 

(a-mer-i-cus ves-pu-she-us), a 

friend of Columbus, accompa- 

TOMB OF COLUMBUS AT HAVANA.* uicd a subscqueut expedition to 

* The body of Columbus was deposited in the Convent of San Francisco, Valla- 
dolid, Spain. It was thence transported, in 1513, to the Carthusian Monastei7 of 
Seville, where a handsome monument was erected, by command of Ferdinand and 
Isabella, with the simple inscription — "To Castile and Leon, Colon gave a new 
world." In 1536, his body, and that of his son Diego, were removed to the city of 
Saint Domingo, Hayti, and interred in the principal chapel. But they were not per- 
mitted to rest even there, for in 1796 they were brought to Havana with imposing 
ceremonies. His final resting-place in the Cathedral is marked by a slab elaborately 
carved, on which is inscribed in Spanish, 

" Oh, rest thou, image of the great Colon, 
Thousand centuries remain, guarded in the urn, 
And in the remembrance of our nation." 




I499-] THE CABOTS. 25 

the new world. A German named Waldsee-Miiller published 
an interesting account of his adventures, in which he sug- 
gested that the country should be called America. This 
work, being the first description of the new world, was very 
popular, and the name was soon adopted by geographers. 

John Cab'-ot, a navigator of Bristol, England, by studying 
his charts and globes, decided that since the degrees of longi- 
tude diminish in length as they approach the pole, the short- 
est route to India must be by sailing northwest instead of west, 
as Columbus had done. He easily obtained royal authority 
to make the attempt. After a prosperous voyage, he came in 
sight of the sterile region of Labrador,* and sailed along the 
coast for many leagues. This was fourteen months before 
Columbus discovered the continent. Cabot supposed that he 
had reached the territory of the " Great Cham," king of Tar- 
tary. Nevertheless, he landed, planted a banner, and took 
possession in the name of the king of England. On his return 
home he was received with much honor, was dressed in silk, 
and styled the " Great Admiral. " The booty which he brought 
back consisted of only two turkeys and three savages. 

Sebastian Cabot continued his father's discoveries. Dur- 
ing the same summer in which Columbus reached the shore 
of South America, Sebastian, then a youth of only twenty- 
one, discovered Newfoundland, and coasted as far south as 
Chesapeake Bay. As he found neither the way to India, nor 
gold, precious stones, and spices, his expedition was consid- 
ered a failure. Yet, by his discoveries, England acquired 
a title to a vast territory in the new world. Though he 

* There is a map of Cabot's preserved at Paris, on which the land he first saw, and 
named Prima ViMa, corresponds with Cape Breton. On it is the date 1494. If this 
be authentic, it will give the priority of the discovery of the American continent to 
Cabot by four years, and decide that Cape Breton, and not Labrador nor the Orinoco 
River, was first seen by European eyes. Very little is definitely known of John 
Cabot, and even the time and place of his birth and death are matters of conjecture. 



26 EPOCH I. [1498. 

gaye to England a continent, no one knows his burial- 
place. 

We shall now follow the principal explorations made 
within the limits of the future United States, by the Span- 
lAEDS, French, E]S"glish, and Dutch. The Spaniards 
explored mainly the southern portion of North America, the 
French the northern, and the Enghsh the middle portion 
along the coast. 



SPANISH EXPLORATIONS. 

Feeling in Spain. — America, at this time, was to the 
Spaniard a land of vague, but magnificent promise, where the 
simple natives wore unconsciously the costliest gems, and the 
sands of the rivers sparkled with gold. Every returning ship 
brought fresh news to quicken the pulse of Spanish enthu- 
siasm. Now, Cortez had taken Mexico, and reveled in the 
wealth of the Montezumas ; now, Pizarro had conquered Peru, 
and captured the riches of the Incas ; now, Magellan, sailing 
through the straits which bear his name, had crossed the 
Pacific, and his vessel returning home by the Cape of Good 
Hope, had circumnavigated the globe. Men of the highest 
rank and culture, warriors, adventurers, all flocked to the new 
world. Soon Cuba, Hispaniola, Porto Eico, and Jamaica were 
settled, and ruled by Spanish governors. Among the Spanish 
explorers of the sixteenth century we notice the following : 

Ponce de Leon (pon'-tha-da-la-on') was a gallant soldier, 
but an old man, and in disgrace. He coveted the glory of 
conquest to restore his tarnished reputation, and, besides, he 
had heard of a magical fountain in this fairy land, where one 
might bathe and be young again. Accordingly he equipped 



ISI2.] SPANISH EXPLORATIONS. 27 

an expedition, and sailed in search of this fabled treasure. 
On Easter Sunday {Pascua Florida, in Spanish), 1512,* he 
came in sight of a land gay with spring flowers. In honor of 
the day, he called it Florida. He sailed along the coast, and 
landed here and there, but returned home at last, an old 
man still, having found neither youth, gold, nor glory. 

Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Darien the next year, and 
from the summit of the Andes beheld the wide expanse of the 
Pacific Ocean. "Wading into its waters with his naked sword 
in one hand, and the banner of Castile (kas-teel) in the other, 
he solemnly declared that the ocean, and all the shores which 
it might touch, belonged to the crown of Spain forever. 

De Narvaez (nar-vah-eth) received a grant of Florida, 
and (1528) with 300 men attempted its conquest. Striking 
into the interior, they wandered about, lured on by the hope 
of finding gold. Wading through swamps, crossing deep 
rivers by swimming and by rafts, fighting the lurking Indians 
who incessantly harassed their path, and nearly perishing 
with hunger, they reached at last the Gulf of Mexico. 
Hastily constructing some crazy boats, they put to sea. 
After six weeks of peril and suffering, they were shipwrecked, 
and De Narvaez was lost. Six years afterward, four — the 
only survivors of this ill-fated expedition — reached the Span- 
ish settlements on the Pacific coast. 

Ferdinand de Soto, undismayed by these failures, under- 
took anew the conquest of Florida. He set out with 600 
choice men, amid the fluttering of banners, the flourish of 

* Aljout eight years afterward, De Ayllon (dS-ile-yonO made a kidnapping expedi- 
tion to what is now Ijnown as South Carolina. Desiring to obtain laborers for the 
mines and plantations in Hayti, he invited some of the natives on board his vessels, 
and, when they were all below, he suddenly closed the hatches and set sail. The 
speculation, however, did not turn out profitably. One vessel sank with all on board, 
and many, preferring starvation to slavery, died on the voyage. History tells us that 
in 1.525, when De Ayllon went back with the intention of settling the country, the 
Indians practised upon him the lesson of cruelty he had taught them. His men were 
lured into the interior. Their entertainers, falling upon them at night, slew the 
larger part, and De Ayllon was only too glad to escape with Ms life. 



28 



EPOCH I. 



[1539. 







DE SOTO S MARCH. 



tnimpets, and the gleaming of helmet and lance. For month 
after month this procession of cavaliers, priests, soldiers, and 
Indian captives strolled through the wilderness, wherever they 
thought gold might be found. They traversed what is now 
Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. In the third year of 
their wanderings (1541) they emerged upon the bank of the 
Mississippi. After another year of fruitless explorations, De 
Soto died. (See Map, Epoch I). At the dead of night his 
followers sank his body in the river, and the sullen waters 
buried his hopes and his ambition. " He had crossed a large 
part of the continent," says Bancroft, "and found nothing 
so remarkable as his burial-place." De Soto had been the 
soul of the company. When he died, the other adventurers 
were anxious only to get home in safety. They constructed 
boats and descended the river, little over half of this gaUant 
array finally reaching the settlements in Mexico. 



1565] SPANISH EXPL0KATI0N8. 29 

Melendez (ma-len-deth), wiser than his predecessors, on 
landing (1565) forthwith laid the foundations of a colony. In 
honor of the day, he named it St. Augustine. This is the old- 
est toimi in the United States.* 

Explorations on the Pacific— California, in the six- 
teenth century, was a general name applied to all the region 
northwest of Mexico. It is said to have originated in an old 
Spanish romance very popular in the time of Cortez, in which 
appeared a character called California, queen of the Amazons. 
The Mexicans told the Spaniards that most of their gold and 
precious stones came from a country far to the northwest. 
Cortez, therefore, immediately turned his attention to that 
direction, and sent out several expeditions to explore the Cali- 
f ornias. All these adventurers returned empty-handed from 
the very region where, three centuries afterward, the world was 
startled by the finding of an El Dorado such as would have 
satisfied the wildest dreams of Cortez and his credulous fol- 
lowers. 

Cahrillo (1543) made the first voyage along the Pacific 
coast, going as far north as the present limits of Oregon. 

New Mexico was explored and named by Espejo (es-pa'- 
ho) who (1583) founded Santa Fe, which is the second oldest 
town in the United States. This was seventeen years after the 
settlement of St. Augustine. 

Extent of the Spanish Possessions.! — Spain, at the 
close of the sixteenth century, held possession not only of the 



* Matiy Spanish remains still exist. Among these is Fort Marion, once San Marco, 
which was founded in 1565 and finished, in 1755. It is built of coquina— a curious 
Btone composed of small shells. 

+ The conquests of the new world enriched Spain, which became the wealthiest 
and most powerful country in Europe. This made other nations all the more anxious 
to find the western passage to India. The routes by the Cape of Good Hope and by 
the Straits of Magellan were long and dangerous. To find the shorter northwestern 
route now became the great wish of all maritime nations, and has been anxiously 
Bought down to the present time, 



30 EPOCH I. [1700. 

West Indies, but of Yucatan, Mexico, and Florida.* The 
Spanish explorers had traversed a large portion of the present 
Southern States, and of the Pacific coast. All this vast ter- 
ritory they claimed by the rights of discovery and possession. 



FRENCH EXPLORATIONS. 

The French were eager to share in the profits which Spain 
was acquiring in the new world. Within seven years after the 
discovery of the continent, the fisheries of Newfoundland were 
frequented by their mariners, f 

Ver-ra-za-ni (zah-ne), a Florentine, was the first navigator 
sent by the French king to find the new way to the Indies. 
Sailing westward from Madeira (1524), he reached land near 
the present harbor of Wilmington. J He supposed this had 
never been seen by Europeans, although we know that Cabot 
had discovered it nearly thirty years before. He coasted 
along the shores of Carolina and New Jersey, entered the 
harbors of New York and Newport, and returned with the 
most glowing description of the new lands he had found. 
He named the country New France. This term was after- 
wards confined to Canada. 

Cartier§ (kar-te-a) ascended the Eiver St. Lawrence 
(1535) to the Indian village of Hochelaga (ho-she-lah-ga) the 

* A writer of that time locates Quebec in Florida, and a map of Henry n. gives 
that name to all North America. 

+ Cape Breton was named by the fishermen in remembrance of their home in Brit- 
tany, Prance. 

t A letter of Verrazaui's giving an account of this voyage, and, until of late, 
thought to be reliable, is now considered by many to be a forgery perpetrated by 
some Italian anxious to secure for his country the glory of the discovery. 

§ Cartier had discovered and named the Gulf and River St. Lawrence the previous 
year. In 1541-2, he and Lord Roberval attempted to plant a colony near Quebec. It 
was composed chiefly of convicts and proved a failure. 



1535] FRENCH EXPLORATIO}<rS. 31 

present site of Montreal. The town was pleasantly situated 
at the foot of a lofty hill which Cartier climbed. Stirred by 
the magnificent prospect, he named it Mont Eeal (Mong 
Ea-al), Kegal Mountain. 

John Ribaut* (re-bo) led the first expedition (1562) under 
the auspices of Coligny. f The company landed at Port Eoyal, 
S. 0. So captivated were they, that when volunteers were called 
for to hold the country for France, so many came forward "with 
such a good will and joly corage," wrote Eibaut, "as we had 
much to do to stay their importunitie." They erected a fort, 
which they named Carolina in honor of Charles IX., king of 
France. The fleet departed, and this little band of thirty 
were left alone on the continent. From the North Pole to 
Mexico, they were the only civilized men. Food became scarce. 
They tired of the eternal solitude of the wilderness, and finally 
built a rude ship, and put to sea. Here a storm shattered their 
vessel. Famine overtook them, and, in their extremity, they 
killed and ate one of their number. A vessel at last hove in sight, 
and took them on board only to carry them captives to Eng- 
land. X Thus perished the colony, but the name still survives. 

Laudonniere(lo-don-yare), two years after, built a fort, also 
called Carolina, on the St. John's Eiver. § Soon the colonists 

* Jean Ribaut, as his name is given in Coligny's Ms. and in his own journal pub- 
lished in 1563, was an excellent seaman. 

t Coligny (kO-lSn-y6) was an admiral of France, and a leader of the Huguenots 
(Hu-ge-nots), as the Protestants were then called. He had conceived a plan for 
founding an empire in America. This would furnish an asylum for his Huguenot 
friends, and at the same time advance the glory of the French. Thus religion and 
patriotism combined to induce him to send out colonists to the new world. 

t The most feeble were landed in France. It is said that Queen Elizabeth, whUe 
conversing with those sent to England, first thought of colonizing the new world. 

§ The history of this colony records an amusing story concerning the long life of 
the natives. A party visited a chief in the midst of the wilderness who gravely 
assured them that he was the father of five generations, and had lived 250 years. 
Opposite him, in the same hut, sat his father, a mere skeleton, whose " age was so 
great that the good man had lost his sight, and could speak one onely word but with 
exceeding great paine." The credulous Frenchmen gazed with awe on this wonder- 
ful pair, and conarratulated themselves on having come to such a land, — where cer- 
tainly there would be no need of Ponce de Leon's fabled fountain. 



32 EPOCH I. [1564- 

were reduced to the verge of starvation.* They were on the 
point of leaving, when they were reinforced by Eibaut. The 
French now seemed fairly fixed on the coast of Florida. The 
Spaniards, however, claimed the country. Melendez, about 
this time, had made a settlement in St. Augustine. Lead- 
ing an expedition northward through the wilderness, in the 
midst of a fearful temjjest, he attacked Fort Carolina and 
massacred almost the entire population. 

Champlain (sham-plane), at the beginning of the seven- 
teenth century, crossed the Atlantic in two pigmy barks — one 
of twelve, the other of fifteen tons — and ascended the St. Law- 
rence on an exploring tour. At Hochelaga all was changed. 
The Indian town had vanished, and not a trace remained of 
the savage population which Oartier saw there seventy years 
before, f Champlain was captivated by the charms of the 
new world, and longed to plant a French empire and the 
Catholic faith amid its savage wilds. 

De Monts (mong) received a grant of all the territory be- 
tween the fortieth and forty-sixth parallels of latitude. J This 
tract was termed Acadia, a name afterward confined to New 
Brunswick and the adjacent islands, and now to Nova 
Scotia. With Champlain, he founded Port Eoyal, N. S., in 
1605. This was the first permanent French settlement in 
America. It was three years before a cabin was built in 
Canada, and two before the James River was discovered. 

Champlain returned in 1608, and established a trading 

* Their sufferings were horrible. Weak and emaciated, they fed themselves with 
roots, sorrel, pounded fish-bones, and even roasted snakes. "Oftentimes," says 
Laudonniere, " our poor soldiers were constrained to give away the very shirts from 
their backs to get one fish. If at any time they shewed unto the savages the exces- 
sive price which they tooke, these villaines would answer them roughly : ' If thou 
make so great account of thy merchandise, eat it, and we will eat our fish ;' then fell 
they out a laughing, and mocked us with open throat." 

t This fact illustrates the frequent and rapid changes which look place among the 
aboriginal tribes. 

% Between the sites of Philadelphia and Montreal. 



l6o8.] FRENCH EXPLORATIONS. 33 

post at Quebec. TJiis was the first iiermanent French settle- 
ment in Canada. The next summer, in his eager desire to 
explore the country, he joined a war party of the Hurons 
against the Iroquois, or Five Nations of Central New York. * 
On this journey he discovered that beautiful lake which bears 
his name. Amid discouragements which would have over- 
whelmed a less determined spirit, Champlain firmly estab- 
lished the authority of France on the banks of the St. Law- 
rence. " The Father of New France," as he has been termed, 
reposes in the soil he won to civilization. 

The Jesuit Missionaries. — The explorers of the Missis- 
sippi valley were mostly Jesuit priests. The French names 
which they gave still linger throughout that region. Their 
hope was to convert the Indians to the Christian faith. They 
pushed their way through the forest with unflagging energy. 
They crept along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. They 
traversed the Great Lakes. In 1668 they founded the mission 
of St. Mary, the oldest European settlement in Michigan. Many 
of them were murdered by the savages ; some were scalped ; 
some were burned in rosin-fire ; some scalded with boiling 
water. Yet, as soon as one fell out of the ranks, another 
sprang forward to fill the post. We shall name but two of 
these patient, indefatigable pioneers of New France. 

Father Marquette (mar-ket), hearing from some wan- 
dering Indians of a great river which they termed the " Father 
of Waters," determined to visit it. He floated in a birch- 
bark canoe down the Wisconsin to the Mississippi (1673), and 
thence to the mouth of the Arkansas, f 

* The interference of Champlain with the Indians secured the inveterate hostility 
of the Ii-oquois tribes. Not lon<T after, they seized the missionaries who came among 
them, tortured and put them to death. This cut off any farther explorations toward 
the south. The French, therefore, turned their attention toward the west. 

t Soon after, while on another expedition, he went ashore for the purpose of quiet 
devotion. After waiting long for his return, his men, seeking him, found that he had 
died while at prayer. He was hurled near the mouth of the Marquette. Years after, 



34 EPOCH I. [1682. 

■ La Salle was educated as a Jesuit, but had established a 
trading post at the outlet of Lake Ontario. He undertook 
various expeditions full of romantic adyenture. Inflamed 
with a desire to find the mouth of the Mississippi, he 
made his way (1682) to the Gulf of Mexico. He named the 
country Louisiana, in honor of Louis XI Y., king of France. 
Results of French Enterprise. — Before the close of the 
seventeenth century, the French had explored the Great 
Lakes, the Fox, Maumee, Wabash, Wisconsin and Ilhnois 
Rivers, and the Mississippi from the Falls of St. Anthony to 
the Gulf. They had traversed a region including what is now 
known as Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Iowa, Minnesota, 
Nebraska, Kansas, the Oanadas and Acadia.* In 1688 it had 
a population of 11,000. 



ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS. 

We have seen how the Oabots, sailing under an English 
flag, discovered the American continent, exploring its coast 
from Labrador to Albemarle Sound. Though the English 
claimed the northern part of the continent by right of this dis- 
covery, yet during the sixteenth century they paid little atten- 
tion to it. At the close of that period, however, maritime 
enterprise was awakened and British sailors cruised on every 
sea. Like the other navigators of the day, they were eager 
to discover the western passage to Asia. 

Frobisher made the first of these attempts to go north of 
America to Asia — Cabot's plan repeated. He pushed through 

when the tempest raged, and the Indian was tossing on the angry waves, he would 
seek to still the storm by invoking the aid of the pious Marquette. 

* As we shall see hereafter, the English at this time clung to a narrow strip along 
the Atlantic coast. 



IS76] 



ENGLISH EXPLORATION'S. 



35 







^~.\y __ _i 



%. 



unknown waters, threading 
his perilous way among ice- 
bergs, until (1576) he en- 
tered Baffin Bay. Here he 
heaped a pile of atones, de- 
clared the country an ap- 
pendage of the British crown, 
and returned home.* 

Sir Francis Drake was 
a famous sailor. In one of his 
expeditions on the Isthmus of 
Panama, he climbed to the top of a lofty tree, whence he saw 
the Pacific Ocean. Looking out on its broad expanse, he re- 
solved to " sail an English ship on those seas." Eeturning to 
England he equipped a squadron. He sailed through the 
Straits of Magellan, coasting along the Pacific shore to the 
southern part of Oregon. He refitted his ship in San 



f^ 



^i*i> 




DRAKE BEHOLDS THE PACIFIC. 



* One of the sarors brought back a stone which was thonght to contain gold. A 
fleet of fifteen vessels was forthwith equipped for this new El Dorado. The north- 
west passage to Cathay was forgotten. After innumerable perils incident to Arctic 
regions, the ships were loaded with the precious ore and returned. Unfortunately 
Matorjr neglectu to tell us what became of the cargo ! 



36 EPOCH I. [1579- 

Francisco harbor, and thence sailing westward, returned 
home (1579) by the Cape of Good Hope.* 

Sir Humphrey G-ilbert was not a sailor, but he had 
studied the accounts of American discoveries, and concluded 
that instead of random expeditions after gold and spices, com- 
panies should be sent out to form permanent settlements. 
His attempts to colonize the new world, however, ended 
fatally. Sailing home in a bark of only ten-tons burden, in 
the midst of a fearful storm the light of his little vessel sud- 
denly disappeared. Neither ship nor crew was ever seen 
again. 

Sir Walter Raleighf was a half-brother of Gilbert, and 
adopted his views of American colonization. Being a great 
favorite with Queen Elizabeth, he easily obtained from her a 
patent of an extensive territory, which was named Virginia in 
honor of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. 

RaleigKs first attempt to plant a colony was on Eoanoke 
Island. The settlers made no endeavor to cultivate the soil, 
but spent most of their time in hunting for gold and 
pearls. J At last they were nearly starved, when Drake, hap- 

* He was thus the first Englishman who explored the Pacific coast, and the second 
European who circumnavigated the globe. 

t Raleigh was not only a man of dauntless courage, but he also added to a hand- 
some person much learning and many accomplishments. Meeting Queen Elizabeth 
one day while she was walking, he spread his mantle over a wet place in the path 
for her to tread upon. She was so pleased with his gallantry that she admitted him 
to court, and he continued a favorite during her entire lifetime. Conversing with 
her one day upon the singular properties of tobacco, the new Indian weed which 
was coming into use, he assured her that he could tell the exact weight of smoke in 
any quantity consumed. The incredulous Queen dared him to a wager. Accepting 
it, Raleigh weighed his tobacco, smoked it, and then carefully weighing the ashes, 
stated the difference. Paying the bet, EHzabeth remarked that she " had before 
heard of turning gold into smoke, but he was the first who had turned smoke into 
gold." This incident illustrates the friendly relations befween Raleigh and the 
Queen. After her death, he was accused by James I. of treason, was imprisoned for 
many years, and at the age of 65 was executed. On the scaffold he asked for the axe, 
and feeling the edge, observed, with a smile, " This is a sharp medicine, hut a sound 
cure for all diseases." Then composedly laying his head on the block, and moving 
his lips as in prayer, he gave the fatal signal. 

\ They believed the Roanoke River had its head-waters in golden rocks, by the 



1586.] ENGLISH EXPLOKATIONS. 37 

pening to stop there on one of his exploring tours, took pity 
on them and carried them home. 

They had Hved long enough in America to learn the use of 
tobacco and the potato. These they introduced into Eng- 
land. The custom of "diinking tobacco," as it was called, 
soon became the fashion.* 

Raleigh's Second Attempt. — Ealeigh, uiidiscouraged by this 
failure, still clung to his colonizing scheme. The next time 
he sent out families, instead of single men. John White 
was appointed governor of the city of Ealeigh, which they 
were to found on Chesapeake Bay. A gi'anddaughter of 
Governor White, born soon after they reached Eoanoke Island, 
was the first English child born in America. The governor, 
on returning to England to secure supplies, found the public 
attention absorbed by the threatened attack of the Spanish 
Armada. It was three years before he was able to come back. 
Meanwhile, his family, and the colony he had left alone in 
the wilderness, had perished. How, we do not know. The 
imagination can only picture what history has failed to record. 

Ealeigh had now spent about 1200,000, a great sum for 
that day, on this American colony ; and, disheartened, trans- 
ferred his patent to other parties. 

Trading Voyages. — Fortunately for American interests, 
trading ventures were more profitable than colonizing ones. 
English vessels frequented the Banks of Newfoundland, and 
probably occasionally visited Virginia. Gosnold, f a master of 

Pacific Ocean. The walla of a great city near its fountain were affirmed to be thickly 
stndded with pearls. 

* An amusing story is told of Ealeigh while he was learning to smoke. On enter- 
ing his study one morning to bring his master a cup of ale, his servant saw a cloud 
of smoke issuing from Sir Walter's mouth. Frantically dashing the liquor in his 
face, he rushed down stairs imploring help, for his master would soon be burnt to 
ashes t 

+ The English ships were at that time accustomed to steer southward along the 
coast of Spain, Portugal, and Africa, as far as the Canary Islands, then they followed 
the track of Columbus to the West India Islands, and thence along the coast of Florida 



38 EPOCH I. [1602. 

a small bark (1602), discovered and named Cape Cod, Mar- 
tha's Vineyard, and other neighboring localities. Loading his 
vessel with sassafras-root, which was then highly esteemed as 
a medicine, he returned home to publish the most favorable 
reports of the region he had visited. Some British merchants 
accordingly sent out the next year a couple of vessels under 
Captain Pring. He discovered several harbors in Maine, and 
brought back his ships loaded with furs and sassafras. 

As the result of these various explorations, many felt an 
earnest desire to colonize the new world. James I. accordingly 
granted the vast territory of Virginia, as it was called, to two 
companies, the London and the Plymouth. 

The London Company, whose principal men resided at 
London, had the tract between the thirty-fourth and thirty- 
eighth degrees of latitude. This was called South Virginia. 
They sent out a colony in 1607 under Captain Newport. 
He made at Jamestown* the first permanent English settle- 
ment in the United States. 

The Plymouth Company, whose principal menf resided 
in Plymouth, had the tract between the forty-first and forty- 
fifth degrees of latitude. This was called North Virginia. 

The Charter granted to these companies was the first 
under which English colonies were planted in the United 
States. It is therefore worthy of careful study. It contained 
no idea of self-government. The people were not to have the 

northward to the point they wished to reach. Navigators knew this was a ronnd- 
ahout way, but they were afraid to try the northern route straight across the Atlantic. 
Gosnold made the voyage directly from England to Massachusetts, thus shortening 
the route 3,000 miles. This gave a great impulse to colonization, since it was in effect 
bringing America 3,000 miles nearer England. 

* The river was called James, and the town Jamestown, in honor of the king of 
England. The headlands received the names of Cape Henry and Cape Charles from 
the king's sons; and the deep water for anchorage "which put the emigrants in 
good comfort,'' gave the name Point Comfort. 

+ They sent out a colony nnder Captain Popham (p6p-am), in the same year with 
the London Company. He settled at the mouth of the Kennebec, but the entire party 
returned home the next spring, discouraged by the severity of the climate. 



l6o6.] DUTCH EXPLORATIOKS. 39 

election of an officer. The king was to appoint a council 
which was to reside in London, and have general control of all 
the colonies ; and also a council to reside in each colony, and 
have control of its local affairs. The Church of England was 
the established religion. Moreover, for five years, all the 
proceeds of the colonial industry and commerce were to be 
applied to a common fund, no one being allowed the fruits 
of his individual labor. 



DUTCH EXPLORATIONS. 

During all this time, the Dutch manifested no interest in 
the new world. In the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
however, Captain Henry Hudson, an 
English navigator in the Dutch ser- 
vice, entered the harbor of New York. 
Hoping to reach the Pacific Ocean, he 
afterward ascended the noble river 
which bears his name (1609). 

On this discovery, the Dutch based 
their claim to the region extending henry hudson. 

from the Delaware Eiver to Cape Cod. They gave to it the 
name of New Netherland. 




EXTENT OF THESE EXPLORATIONS. 

1. The Spaniards confined their settlements and explora- 
tions to the West Indies and the adjacent mainland, and 
in the United States made settlements only in Florida and 
New Mexico. 

2. The French claimed the whole of New France, and made 
their first settlements in Acadia and Canada. 

3. The English explored the Atlantic coast at various 



40 EPOCH I. [1607 

points, and claimed this vast territory, which they termed Vir- 
ginia, having made tlieir first settlement at Jamestown. * 

4. The Dutch laid claim to New Netherland, but made 
no settlement till 1613. 

The Rival Claims. — These four claims overlapped f one 
another, and necessarily produced much confusion. While 
the first few settlements were separated by hundreds of miles 
of savage forests, this was of little account. But as the set- 
tlements increased, the rival claims became a source of con- 
stant strife, and were decided ^principally by the sword. 

Two Centuries of Exploration and One of Settle- 
ment. — These explorations had lasted during the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries, and at the close of the sixteenth 
century, the only permanent settlements were those of the 
Spaniards at St. Augustine and Santa Fe. In the beginning 
of the seventeenth century, permanent settlements multi- 
plied. They were made by 

The French at Port Bmjal, N. S., in 1605 ; 

The English at Jamestoimi, in 1607 ; 

The French at Quebec, in 1608 ; 

The Dutch at Mw Yorh, in 1613;% 

The English at Plymouth, in 1620. 

* After this time, the English is the only nation that directly influences the history 
of the United States. The country was settled mainly by emigrants from Great 
Britain, and in the next epoch all the colonies become dependencies of that empire. 

t It is noticeable that the English grants all extended westward to the Pacific 
Ocean, the French southward from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf, and the Spanish 
northward to the Arctic Ocean. None of the European nations had any idea of the 
immense territory they were donating. 

X Here lay the shaggy continent from Florida to the Pole, outstretched in savage 
slumber. On the bank of the James River was a nest of woebegone Englishmen, a 
handful of fur-traders at the mouth of the Hudson, and a few shivering Frenchmen 
among the snowdrifts of Acadia ; while amid still wilder desolation Champlain upheld 
the banner of France over the icy rock of Quebec. These were the advance guard of 
civilization, the messengers of promise to a desert continent. Yet, not content with 
inevitable woes, they were rent by petty jealousies and miserable quarrels, while 
each little fragment of rival nationalities, just able to keep up its ovnx wretched 
existence on a few square miles, begrudged to all the rest the smallest share in a 
domain which all the nations of Europe could not have sufficed to Wi.—Parkman. 



1492-] StJMMABT OF EXPLORATIONS. 41 



Summary of the History of the First Epoch, 
arranged in Chronological Order. 

PAGE 

1492. Columbus discovered the New World, October 12, . 23 

1497. The Cabots discovered Labrador, July 3, ... 25 

1498. The Cabots explored the Atlantic Coast, ... 25 
South America was discovered by Columbus, August 10, 24 
Vasco de Gama sailed round the Cape of Good Hope 

and discovered a passage to India, .... 

1512. Ponce de Leon discovered Florida, April 6, . . .27 

1513. Balboa saw the Pacific Ocean, September 29, . . 27 
1519-21. Cortez conquered Mexico, 26 

1520. Magellan discovered and sailed through the straits 
which bear his name, into the Pacific Ocean ; and his 
vessel returning home by the Cape of Good Hope, 
had made the first circumnavigation of the globe, . 26 
1524 Verrazani explored the coast of North America, . . 30 

1528. Narvaez explored part of Florida, 27 

1534-35. Cartier discovered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and ascended 

the river to Montreal, 30 

1539-41. De Soto rambled over the Southern States and in 1541 

discovered the Mississippi River, 27 

1540-42. Cabrillo explored California and sailed along the Pacific 

Coast, . , .29 

1541-42. Roberval attempted to plant a colony on the St. Law- 
rence, but failed, 30 

1563. Ribaut attempted to plant a Huguenot colony at Port 

Royal, but failed, 31 

1564. Laudonniere attempted to plant a Huguenot colony 

on the St. John's River. It was destroyed by the 
Spaniards, 31 

1565. Melendez founded a colony at St. Augustine, Florida; 

first permanent settlement in the United States, . 29 
1576-7. Frobisher tried to find a northwest passage ; entered 
Baflan Bay, and twice attempted to found a colony 

in Labrador, but failed, 34 

1578-80. Drake sailed along Pacific Coast to Oregon ; wintered 

in San Francisco, and circumnavigated the globe, . 35 

1582. Espejo founded Santa Fe ; second oldest town in the 

United States 29 

1583. Gilbert was lost at sea, 36 

1583-7. Raleigh twice attempted to plant a colony in Virginia, 36 

1602. Gosnold discovered Cape Cod, May 14, . . . .38 



42 



EPOCH I. 



[1605. 



1605. De Monts established a colony at Port Royal, Nova Sco- 
tia ; first permanent French settlement in America, . 32 

1607. The English settled Jamestown ; first permanent Eng- 

lish settlement in America, May 23, .... 38 

1608. Champlain planted a colony at Quebec ; first permanent 

French settlement in Canada, 32 

1609. Hudson discovered the Hudson River, .... 39 
Champlain discovered Lake Champlain, ... 33 

1613. Settlement of New York by the Dutch, .... 39 
1620. Pilgrims settled at Plymouth ; first English settlement 

in New England, December 21, 40 



REFERENCES FOR READING. 

Irving' s Columbus. — Parkntan's Pioneers of France, yesuits in North America, 
and Discovery 0/ the Great West. — Long/ellotv' s Sir Humphrey Gilbert (Poem). — 
De Vere's Romance o_f American History. — Abbott's Biography o_f Illustrious Men 
and Women. — T. Irving's De Soto in Florida. — Help's Spanish Conquest of America. 
— Biddle' s Sebastian Cabot. — Nicholls''s yohn Cabot. — Barlow's Vision of Colujnbus 
[Poem) and Poems on Columbus by Samuel Rogers and J. R. Lowell. — Simms''s 
Damsel of Darien {Poem). — Scribner' s Monthly, Nov., 1874, art.. Pictures from 
Florida. — Harper's Magazine, Nov., etc., 1874, art.. The First Century of the 
Republic. — Prescoti's Ferdinand and Isabella (Colufnbus). — Hawk's History of North 
Carolina (Lost Colony of Roanoke). — Shea' s Discovery and Exploration of the Mis- 
sissippi Valley. — Wallace^s Fair God {Fiction).— Barnes's Popular History of United 
States. 




TUB 0U3 CATBWAY AT ST. AUGUSTINB, FLORUkA. 




Jacob WtU;J)tL 



Epoch II. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH 
COLONIES. 



From 1607 — the Founding of Jamestown, 

To 177s— the Breaking out of the Revolution. 




HIS Epoch traces the early history of 
the thirteen colonies — Virginia, Mas- 
sachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, New 
Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, 
South Carolina, North Carolina, New 
York, Ehode Island, New Hampshire, 
and Georgia. The Cavaliers land in 
Virginia, and the Puritans in Massa- 
chusetts. Immigration increases and 
the settlements multiply along the 
whole coast. The colonies, however, still have little history in 
common. Each by itself struggles with the wilderness, con- 
tends with the Indian, and develops the principles of liberty. 

Qtiesiions on the Geography of ike Second Epoch. — Names of places in 
italic letters may be found on the map for Epoch in. Locate Jamestown. Salem. 
Charlestown. Boston. Cambridge. Swanzea. Providence. Bristol. Hadley. 
Hatfield. Portsmouth. Dover. Hartford. Wethersfleld. New Haven. Windsor. 
Saybrook. New York. Albany. Schenectady. Elizabetbtown. Wilmington. 
Philadelphia. St. Mary's. Edenton. Charleston. Savannah. Haverbill. Deerfield. 
St. Augustine. Quebec. Louisburg. 

Locate Fort Venango. Oswego. Presque Isle. Port Le Boeuf. Crown Point. 
Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Niagara. Fort du Quesne. Fort William Henry. Fort 
Edward. 

Describe the Ohio River. Monongahela River. French Creek. Chowan River. 
Ashley River. Cooper River. River St. John. Potomac River. James River. 
Hudson River. Connecticut River. Mohawk River. Delaware River. Kennebec 
River. Penobscot River. Mystic Biver. Miami River. St. Lawrence River. 

Locate Manhattan Island. Alleghany Mountains, Cape Breton. MaBSacbtt^ettB 
Bay. Albemarle Sound. Chesapeake Bay, 



46 EPOCH II. [1607. 



VIRGINIA. 

The Character of the colonists was poorly adapted to en- 
dure the hardships incident to a settlement in a new coun- 
try. They were mostly gentlemen by birth, unused to labor. 
They had no families, and came out in search of wealth or 
adventure, expecting, when rich, to return to England. 
The climate was unhealthy, and before the first autumn 
half of their number had perished. 

John Smith* saved the colony from ruin. First as a 
member of the council, and afterward as president, his services 
were invaluable. He persuaded the settlers to erect a fort and 
to build log huts for the winter. He made long voyages, care- 
fully exploring Chesapeake Bay, securing the friendship of the 
Indians, and bringing back boat-loads of supplies. He trained 

* Captain John Smith was bom to adventure. WhOe yet a boy he leaves his home 
in Lincolnshire, England, to engage in Holland wars. After a four-years service he 
builds a lodge of boughs in a forest, where he hunts, rides, and studies military 
tactics. Next we hear of him on his way to fight the Turks. Before reaching France 
he is robbed, and escapes death from want only by begging alms. Having embarked 
for Italy, a fearful storm arises ; he, being a heretic, is deemed the cause, and is 
thrown overboard, but he swims to land. In the East, a famous Mussulman wishes 
to fight some Christian knight " to please the ladies ; " Smith ofi'ers himself and 
slays three champions in succession. Taken prisoner in battle and sold as a slave, 
his head is shaved and his neck bound with an iron ring ; he kills his master, arrays 
himself in the dead man's garments, mounts a horse and spurs his way to a Russian 
camp. Having returned to England, he embarks for the new world. On the voyage 
he excites the jealousy of his fellows and is landed in chains ; but his worth becomes 
BO apparent that he is finally made president of the colony. His marvelous escapes 
seem now more abundant than ever, A certain fish inflicts a dangerous wound, but 
he finds an antidote and afterward eats part of the same fish with great relish. He 
is poisoned, but overcomes the dose and severely beats the poisoner. His party of 
fifteen is attacked by Opechancanough (Op-e-kan-ka-no), brother and successor of 
Powhatan, with seven hundred warriors ; Smith drags the old chief by his long hair 
into the midst of the Indian braves, who, amazed at such audacity, immediately sur- 
render. He is shockingly burned on a boat by the explosion of a bag of powder at 
his side ; but he leaps into the water, where he barely escapes death by drowning. 
These and many other wonderful exploits he published in a book after his return to 
England. Historians very generally discredit them, and even the story of his rescue 
by Pocahontas (p. 48) is considered very doubtful. His services were, however, of 
unquestionable value to Virginia; and his disinterestedness appears from the fact that 
he never received a foot of land in the colony his wisdom had saved. Of his last 
years we know little. He died near London, 1631. 



I 



l607.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 47 

the tender gentlemen till they learned how to swing the axe 
in the forest. He declared that "he who would not work, 
might not eat." He taught them that industry and self- 
reliance are the surest guarantees to fortune. 

Smith's Adventures were of the most romantic character. 
In one of his expeditions up the Chickahominy* he was taken 




SMITH SHOWING HIS COMPASS TO THE INDIANS. 



prisoner by the Indians. With singular coolness he imme- 
diately attempted to interest his captors by explaining the use 
of his pocket compass and the motions of the moon and stars. 
At last they permitted him to write a letter to Jamestown. 
When they found that this informed his friends of his misfor- 

* This was undertaken by the express order of the company, to seek a passage to 
the Pacific Ocean, and thus to India. Captain Newport, before his return to England, 
made a trip up the James River for the same purpose, but on reaching the falls con- 
cluded that the way to India did not lie in that direction. These attempts, which 
Beem so preposterous to us now, show what inadequate ideas then prevailed coucem- 
ing the size of this continent. 



48 EPOCH II. [1607. 

tune, they were filled with astonishment.* They could not 
understand by what magical art he could make a few marks 
on paper express his thoughts. They considered him a being 
of a superior order, and treated him with the utmost respect. 
He was carried from one tribe to another,! and at last brought 
to the great chief, Powhatan, by whom he was condemned to 
die. His head was laid on a stone, and the huge war-club of 
the Indian executioner was raised to strike the fatal blow. 
Suddenly Pocahontas, the young daughter of the chief, who 
had already become attached to the prisoner, threw herself 
upon his neck and pleaded for his pardon (see note, p. 46). 
The favorite of the tribe was given her desire. Smith was 
released, and soon sent home with promises of friendship. 
His little protector was often thereafter to be seen going to 
Jamestown with baskets of corn for the white men. 

A Second Charter was now obtained by the company 
(1609). This vested the authority in a governor instead of a 
local council. The colonists were not consulted with regard 
to the change, nor did the charter guarantee to them any 
rights. 

The "Starving Time." — Unfortunately, Smith was dis- 
abled by a severe wound and compelled to return to England. 
His influence being removed, the settlers became a prey to 
disease and famine. Some were killed by the Indians. Some, 
in their despair, seized a boat and became pirates. The winter 
of 1609-10 was long known as the Starving Time. In six 
months they were reduced from 490 to 60. At last they de- 
termined to flee from the wretched place. "None dropped a 
tear, for none had enjoyed one day of happiness." The next 

* As another evidence of the simplicity of the Indians, it is said that having seized 
a quantity of gunpowder belonging to the colonists, they planted it for seed, expect- 
ing to reap a full harvest of ammunition for the next contest. 

+ His route was over the peninsula, since rendered so famous by McClellan's cam- 
paign. 



l6lO.] DEVELOPMENT OF ElfGLISH COLONIES. 49 

morning, as they slowly moved down with the tide, to theii 
great joy they met their new governor, Lord Delaware, with 
abundant supplies and a company of emigrants. All returned 
to the homes they had just deserted, and Jamestown colony 
was once more rescued from ruin. 

The Third Charter. — Up to this time the colony had 
proved a failure and was publicly ridiculed in London. To 
quiet the outcry, the charter was changed (1612). The 
council in London was abolished, and the stockholders were 
given power to regulate the affairs of the company themselves. 

The Marriage of Pocahontas (1613).— The little In- 
dian girl had now grown to womanhood. John Kolfe, a 
young English planter, had won her love and wished to 
marry her. In the little church at Jamestown, rough 
almost as an Indian's wigwam, she received Christian bap- 
tism, and, in broken English, stammered the marriage vows 
according to the service of the Church of England. 

Three years after, with her husband, she visited London. 
The childlike simplicity and winning grace of Lady Eebecca, 
as she was called, attracted universal admiration. She was 
introduced at court and received every mark of attention. 
As she was about to return to her native land with her hus- 
band and infant son,* she suddenly died. 

First Colonial Assembly. — Governor Yeardley (yard'-le) 
believed that the colonists should have "a hande in the gov- 
erning of themselves." He accordingly called at Jamestown, 
July 30, 1619, the first legislative hody that ever asseinhled in 
America. It consisted of the governor, council, and deputies, 
or "burgesses," as they were called, chosen from the various 
plantations, or '^boroughs." Its laws had to be ratified by 



* This son became a man of wealth and distinction. Many of the leading families 
of Virginia have been proud to say that the blood of Pocahontas coursed through 
their veiutt. 



50 EPOCH II. [1619. 

the company in England, but, in turn, tha orders from Lon- 
don were not binding unless ratified by the colonial assembly. 
These privileges were afterward (1621) embodied in a written 
constitution — the first of the kind in America, A measure 
of freedom was thus granted the young colony, and James- 
town became a nursery of liberty. 

Prosperity of the Colony. — The old famine troubles 
had now all passed. The attempt to work in common had 
been given up, and each man tilled his own land and had the 
avails. Tobacco was an article of export. The colonists 
raised it so eagerly that at one time even the streets of James- 
town were planted with it. Gold-hunting had ceased,* and 
many of the former servants of the company owned plantations. 
Settlements lined both banks of the James for 140 miles. 
Best of all, young women of good character were brought over 
by the company. These sold readily as wives to the settlers. 
The price was fixed at the cost of the passage — 100 pounds of 
tobacco — but they were in such demand that it soon went up 
to 150 pounds. Domestic ties were formed. The colonists, 
having homes, now became Virginians. All freemen had 
the right to vote. Eeligious toleration was enjoyed. Vir- 
ginia became almost an independent republic. 

Slavery Introduced. — In 1619 the captain of a Dutch 
trading vessel sold to the colonists twenty negroes, f 
They were employed in cultivating tobacco. As their 
labor was found profitable, larger numbers were afterward 
imported. 

Indian Troubles. — After the death of Powhatan, the firm 

* In the early life of this colony, particles of mica glittering in the brook were mis- 
taken for gold dust. "There was no talk, no hope, but dig gold, wash gold, refine 
gold, load gold." Newport carried to England a shipload of the worthless stuff. 
Smith remonstrated in vain against this folly. 

t Fronl this circumstance, small as it seemed at the time, the most momentous 
consequences ensued, — consequences that, long after, rent the republic with strife, 
and moistened its soil with blood. 



l622.] DEVELOPMENT OF EITGLISH COLONIES. 51 

friend of the English, the Indians formed a plan for the ex- 
termination of the colony. So secretly was this managed 
that on the very morning of the massacre (March 22, 1622) 
they visited the houses and sat at the tables of those whose 
murder they were plotting. At a preconcerted moment they 
attacked the colonists on all their widely-scattered plantations. 
Over three hundred men, women, and children fell in one 
day. Fortunately, a converted Indian had informed a friend 
whom he wished to save, and thus Jamestown and the settle- 
ments near by were prepared. A merciless war ensued, 
during which the colony was reduced from 4,000 to 2,500 ; 
but the Indians were so severely punished that they remained 
quiet for twenty years. Then came a fearful massacre of 
five hundred settlers (1644), which ended in the natives 
being expelled from the region. 

Virginia a Royal Province. — The majority of the stock- 
holders gladly granted to the infant colony those rights for 
which they were struggling at home. King James, becom- 
ing jealous of the company because of its patriotic sentiments, 
took away the charter (1624), and made Virginia a royal 
province. Henceforth the king appointed the governor and 
council, though the colony still retained its assembly. 

A Period of Oppression. — The British Parliament en- 
forced the Navigation Act (1660), which ordered that the 
commerce of the colony should be carried on in English vessels, 
and that their tobacco should be shipped to England. Besides 
this, their own assembly was composed mainly of royalists, 
who levied exorbitant taxes, refused to go out of office when 
their term had expired, fixed their own salary at 250 pounds 
of tobacco per day, restricted the right of voting to "free- 
holders and housekeepers," and imposed on Quakers a 
monthly fine of one hundred dollars for absence from worship 
in the English Church. Two parties gradually sprung up in 



52 



EPOCH II. 



[1676. 



their midst ; one, the aristocratic party, was composed of the 
rich planters and the officeholders in the colony ; the other 
comprised the liberty-loving portion of the people, who felt 
themselves deprived of their political rights.* 

Bacon's Rebellion. — These difficulties came to a crisis 
in 1676, when Governor Berkeley failed to provide for the 
defence of the settlements against the Indians. At this 
juncture, Nathaniel Bacon, a patriotic young lawyer, rallied a 
company, defeated the Indians, and then turned to meet the 
governor, who had denounced him as a traitor. During the 
contest which followed, Berkeley was driven out of Jamestown 
and the village itself burned, f In the midst of this success. 
Bacon died. . No leader could be found worthy to take his 
place, and the people dispersed. Berkeley revenged himself 
with terrible severity. On hearing of the facts, Charles II. 

* It is a curious fact that the royalists who fled from England in Cromwell's time 

took refuge in Virginia, and were 
hospitably entertained, while the 
" regicides" (the judges who con- 
demned Charles I.) fled to Massa- 
chusetts and were concealed from 
their pursuers, 

t Going up the James River, 
just before reaching City Point, 
one sees on the right-hand bank 
the ruins of an old church. The 
crumbling tower, with its arched 
doorways, is almost hidden by 
the profusion of shrubbery which 
surrounds it. Its moss-covered 
walls, entwined with ivy planted 
by loving hands which have 
hincc crumbled into dust, look 
desolately out upon the old 
churchyard at its back. Here, 
pushing aside the rank vines and 
tangled bushes which conceal 
them, one finds a few weather- 
beaten tombstones. A huge but- 
tonwood tree, taking root below, 

THE RUINS AT JAMESTOWN. ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^j jj^g^g ^Id 

Slabs, and now, with its many fellows, spreads its lofty branches high over the soli- 
tary dead. And this is aU that remains of that Jamestown whose struggles we have 
here recorded. 




l620.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 53 

impatiently declared, "He has taken more lives in that 
naked country than I did for the murder of my father." 



MASSACHUSETTS. 



The Plymouth Company made several attempts to 
explore North Virginia. Captain John Smith, already so 
famous in South Virginia, examined the coast from Penob- 
scot to Cape Cod, drew a map of it, and called the country 
New England. The company, stirred to action by his 
glowiug accounts, obtained a new j^atent (1620) under the 
name of the Council for New England. This authorized 
them to make settlements and laws, and to carry on trade 
through a region reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
and comprising over a million square miles. New England, 
however, was settled with no consent of king or council. 

PLYMOUTH COLONY. 

Settlement. — Landing of the Pilgrims.*— One stormy 
day in the fall of 1620, the Mayflower, with a band of a hun- 
dred pilgrims, came to anchor in Cape Cod harbor. The 

* They were called Pilgrims because of their wanderings. About seventy years 
before this time the state religion of England had been changed from Catholic to 
Protestant ; but a large number of the clergy and people were dissatisfied with what 
they thought to be a half-way policy on the part of the new church, and called for a 
more complete puritication from old observances and doctrines. For this, they were 
called Puritans. They still believed in a state church, that is, that the nation of Eng- 
land was the church of England ; and that the queen, as the head of both, could 
appoint church officers and prescribe the form of religious worship. They, however, 
wanted a change, and desired the government to make it to suit them. The govern- 
ment not only refused, but punished the Puritan clergy for not using the prescribed 
form of worship. This led some of them to question the authority of the govern- 
ment in religious matters. They came to believe that any body of Christians might 
declare themselves a church, choose their own officers, and be independent of all 
external authority. When they began to form these local churches, they separated 
themselves from the Church of England, and for this reason are called Separatists 
and Independents. One of these churches of Separatists was at Scrooby, in the east 
of England. Not being allowed to worship in peace, they fled to Holland (1608), 



54 EPOCHII. [1620. 

little company,* gathering in the cabin, drew up a compact, 
in which they agreed to enact just and equal laws, which aU 
should obey. One of their exploring parties landed at Ply- 
mouth,! as it was called on Smith's chart, December 21. J 
Finding the location suitable for a settlement, they all came 
ashore, and amid a storm of snow and sleet commenced 
building their rude huts. 

The Character of the Pilgrim settlers was well suited to 
the rugged, stormy land which they sought to subdue. They 
had come into the wilderness with their families in search of 
a home where they could educate their children and worship 
God as they pleased. They were earnest, sober-minded men, 
actuated in all things by deep religious principle, and never 
disloyal to their convictions of duty. 

Their Sufferings during the winter were severe. At one 
time there were only seven well persons to take care of the 
sick. Half of the little band died. Yet when spring came, 
not one of the company thought of returning to England. 

The Indians, fortunately, did not disturb them. A pesti- 
lence had destroyed the tribe inhabiting the place where they 
landed. They were startled, however, one day in early spring 
by a voice in their village crying in broken English, " Wel- 
come ! " It was the salutation of Sam'-o-set, an Indian 

where they lived twelve years. But evil influences sarronnded their children, and 
they longed for a land where they might worship God in their own way and save 
their families from worldly follies. America offered such a home. They came, re- 
solved to brave every danger, trusting to God to shape their destinies. 

* The exact number of the pilgrims was 102. 

t The little shallop sent out to reconnoitre before landing, lost, in a furious storm, 
its rudder, mast, and sail. Late at night, the party sought shelter under the lee of a 
small island. They spent the next day in cleaning their rusty weapons and drying 
their wet garments. Every hour was precious, as the season was late and their com- 
panions in the Mayflower were waiting their return ; but "being ye last day of y week, 
they prepared there to keepe ye Sabbath." No wonder that the influence of such a 
people has been felt throughout the country, and that " Forefathers' Rock," on which 
they first stepped, is yet held in grateful remembrance. 

X This was Dec. 11, Old Style. In 1752, eleven days were added to correct an error 
in the calendar, thus making this date the 22d. Only 10 days, however, should have 
been allowed, and therefore the correct date is the Slst, New Style. 



l62I.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 55 




welcome! — PLYMOUTH, I02I. 

whose chief, Mas-sa-s6it, soon after visited them. The 
treaty then made lasted for fifty years. Ca-non'-i-cus, a 
Narraganset chief, once sent a bundle of arrows, wrajjped in 
a rattlesnake skin, as a token of defiance. Governor Brad- 
ford returned the skin filled with powder and shot. This 
significant hint was effectual. 

The Progress of the Colony was slow. Their har- 
vests were insufficient to feed themselves and the new-comers. 
During the "famine of 1623," the best dish they could set 
before their friends was a bit of fish and a cup of water. * 
After four years they numbered only 184. The plan of 
working in common having failed here as at Jamestown, 
land was assigned to each settler. Abundance ensued. The 

* As an illustration of their pious content, it is said that Elder Brewster was wont, 
over a meal consisting only of clams, to return thanks to God, who " had given them 
to suck the abandance of the seas, and of the treasures hid in the sands." 



56 BPOCHII. [1628. 

colony was neyer organized by royal charter ; therefore they 
elected their own governor, and made their own laws. In 
1692, Plymouth was united with Massachusetts Bay colony, 
under the name of Massachusetts. 



MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY. 

Settlement— John Endicott and five associates having 
obtained a grant of land about Massachusetts Bay, secured 
(1628) a royal charter giving authority to make laws and 
govern the territory. This company afterward transferred 
all their rights to the colony. It was a popular measure, 
and many prominent Puritan families flocked to this land of 
liberty. Some gathered around Governor Endicott, who 
had already started Salem and Charlestown, some established 
colonies at Dorchester and Watertown, and one thousand 
under Governor Winthrop founded Boston (1630). 

Religious Disturbances. — The people of Massachusetts 
Bay, while in England, were Puritans, but not Separatists. 
Having come to America to establish a Puritan Church, they 
were unwilling to receive persons holding opinions differing 
from their own, lest their purpose should be defeated. They 
accordingly sent back to England those who persisted in 
using the forms of the Established Church, and allowed only 
members of their own church to vote in civil affairs. 

Roger Williams, an eloquent and pious young minister, 
taught that each person should think for himself in all 
religious matters, and be responsible to his own conscience 
alone. He declared that the magistrates had, therefore, no 
right to punish blasphemy, perjury, or Sabbath-breaking. 
The clergy and magistrates were alarmed at what they con- 
sidered a doctrine dangerous to the peace of the colony, and 
ite was ordered (1635) to be sent to England. It was in the 



l63S-] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 57 

depth of winter, yet he fled to the forest and found refuge 
among the Indians. The next year, Canonicus, the Narra- 
ganset sachem, gave him land to found a settlement, which 
he gratefully named Providence. 

Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, during the same year, aroused a 
violent and bitter controversy. She claimed to be favored 
with special revelations of God's will. These she expounded 
to crowded congregations of women, greatly to the scandal 
of the clergy and people. Finally she also was banished. . 

The Quakers, about twenty years after these summary 
measures, created fresh trouble by their peculiar views. They 
were fined, whipped, imprisoned, and sent out of the colony ; 
yet they as constantly returned, glorying in their sufferings. 
At last four were executed. The people beginning to con- 
sider them as martyrs, the persecution gradually relaxed. 

A Union of the Colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Ply- 
mouth, New Haven, and Connecticut, was formed (1G43) 
under the title of The United Colonies of New England. 
This was a famous league in colonial times. The object was 
a common protection against the Indians and the encroach- 
ments of the Dutch and French settlers. 

King Philip's War.— During the life of Massas6it, Ply- 
mouth enjoyed peace with the Indians, as did Jamestown 
during that of Powhatan. After Massasoit's death, his son, 
Philip, brooded with a jealous eye over the encroachments of 
the whites. With profound sagacity, he planned a confed- 
eration of the Indian tribes against the intruders. The first 
blow fell on the people of Swansea as they were quietly going 
home from church on Sunday (July 14, 1675). The settlers 
flew to arms, but Philip escaped, and soon excited the savages 
to fall upon the settlements high up the Connecticut valley. * 

* At Hadley the Indians surprised the people on Fast day, June 12, 1676. Seizing 
their muskets at the sound of the savage war-whoop, the men rushed out of the 
meeting-house to fall into line. But the foe was on every side. Confused and be- 



58 



EPOCH II. 



[1675. 




A FORTIFIED HOUSE. 



The colonists fortified their houses with palisades, carried 
their arms with them into the fields when at work, and 
stacked them at the door when at church. The Narraganset 

Indians favored Philip, 
and seemed on the point 
of joining his alliance. 
They had gathered their 
winter's provisions, and 
fortified themselves in 
the midst of an almost 
inaccessible swamp. Fif- 
teen hundred of the 
colonists accordingly at- 
tacked them in this stronghold. The Indian wigwams 
and stores were burned, and one thousand warriors perished. 
In the spring the war broke out anew along a frontier of 
three hundred miles, and to within twenty miles of Boston. 
!N"owhere fighting in the open field, but by ambuscade 
and skulking, the Indians kept the whole country in terror. 
Driven to desperation by their atrocities, the settlers hunted 
down the savages like wild beasts. Philip was chased from 
one hiding-jjlace to another. His family being captured at 
last, he fled, broken-hearted, to his old home on Mt. Hope, 

wildered, the settlers seemed about to give way, when suddenly a strange old man 
with long white beard and ancient garb appeared among them. Kinging out a quick, 
sharp word of command, he recalled them to their senses. Following their myste- 
rious leader, they drove the enemy headlong before them. The danger passed, they 
looked around for their deliverer. But he had disappeared as mysteriously as he had 
come. The good people believed that God had sent an angel to their rescue. But 
history reveals the secret. It was the regicide Colonel Goffe. Fleeing from the 
vengeance of Charles II., with a price set upon his head, he had for years wandered 
about, living in mills, clefts of rocks, and forest caves. At last he had found an asy- 
lum with the Hadley minister. From his window he had seen Ihe stealthy Indiana 
coming down the hill. Fired with desire to do one more good deed for God's people, 
he rushed from his hiding-place, led them on to victory, and then returned to his 
retreat, never more to reappear. — One learns with regret that recent research throws 
great doubt over the truth of this thrilling story. It is curious to notice also that 
there is no proof that Philip possessed any eloquence or was even present in any fight, 
though ail these statements have hitherto been made by reliable historians. 



1676.] DEVELOPMENT OP ENGLISH COLONIES. 59 



near Bristol, E. I., where he was shot by a faithless In- 
dian. 

Ne^v England a 
Royal Province. — The 

Navigation Act (p. 51), 
which we have seen so 
unpopular in Virginia, 
was exceedingly oppres- 
sive in Massachusetts, 
which possessed a thriv- 
ing commerce. In spite 
of the decree the colony 
opened a trade with the 
West Indies. The roy- 
alists in England deter- 
mined that this bold re- 
publican spirit should be 
quelled. An English 
officer who attempted to 
enforce the Navigation 
Act having been com- 
pelled to return home, Charles II. eagerly seized upon the 
excuse thus offered, and made Massachusetts a royal pro- 
vince. The king died before his plan was completed, but 
James II. (1686) declared the charters of all the New Eng- 
land colonies forfeited, and sent over Sir Edmund Andros, 
as first royal governor of New England. He carried things 
with a high hand. The colonies endured his oppression 
for three years, when, learning that his royal master was 
dethroned, they rose against their petty tyrant and put him 
in jail. With true Puritan sobriety they then quietly 
resumed their old form of government. This lasted for 
three years, when Sir William Phipps came as royal gov'er- 




KING PHILIP. 



60 EPOCH II. [1692. 

nor over a province embracing Massachusetts, Maine, and 
Nova Scotia. From this time till the Revolution, Massachu- 
setts remained a royal province. 

Salem Witchcraft (1692). — A strange delusion known 
as the Salem witchcraft,* produced the most intense excite- 
ment. The children of Mr. Parris, a minister near Salem, 
performed pranks which could be explained only by supposing 
that they were under Satanic influence. Every effort was 
made to discover who had bewitched them. An Indian 
servant was flogged until she admitted herself to be guilty. 
Soon others were affected, and the terrible mania spread 
rapidly. Committees of examination were appoint-ed and 
courts of trial convened. The most improbable stories were 
credited. To express a doubt of witchcraft was to indicate 
one's own alliance with the evil spirit. Persons of the 
highest respectability, clergymen, magistrates, and even the 
governor's wife were implicated. At last, after fifty-five 
persons had been tortured and twenty hung, the people 
awoke to their folly. 



MAINE AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

These Colonies were so intimately united with Massa- 
chusetts that they have almost a common history. Gorges 
(gor-jez) and Mason, about two years after the landing of the 

* A belief in witchcraft was at that time universal. Sir Matthew Hale, one of the 
most enlightened judges of England, repeatedly tried and condemned persons 
accused of witchcraft. Blackstone himself, at a later day, declared that to deny 
witchcraft was to deny Eevelation. Cotton Mather, the most prominent minister of 
the colony, was active in the rooting out of this supposed crime. He published a 
boolc full of the most ridiculous witch stories. One judge, who engaged in this per- 
secution, was afterward so deeply penitent that he observed a day of fasting in each 
year, and on the day of general fast rose in his place in the Old South Church at 
Boston, and in the presence of the congregation handed to the pulpit a written con- 
fession acknowledging his error, and praying for forgiveness. 



l622.] DEVELOPMEKT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 61 

Pilgi-ims, obtained from the Council for New England the 
grant of a large tract of land which lay between the Mer- 
rimac and Kennebec Rivers. They established some small 
fishing stations near Portsmouth and at Dover. This patent 
being afterward dissolved, Mason took the country lying 
west of the Piscataqua, and named it New Hampshire ; 
Gorges took that lying east, and termed it the province of 
Maine. * Massachusetts, however, claimed this territory, and 
to secure it paid six thousand dollars to the heirs of Gorges. 
Maine was not separated from Massachusetts till 1820. The 
feeble settlements of New Hampshire also placed themselves 
under the protection of Massachusetts. " Three times, either 
by their own consent or by royal authority, they were joined 
in one colony, and as often separated," until 1741, when 
New Hampshire became a royal province, and so remained 
until the Kevolution. 



CONNECTICUT. 



Settlement. — About eleven years after the landing of 
the Pilgrims, Lord Say-and-Seal and Lord Brooke ob- 
tained from the Earl of Warwick a transfer of the grant of 
the Connecticut f valley, which he had secured from the 
Council for New England. The Dutch claimed the territory, 
and before the English could take possession, built a fort at 
Hartford, and commenced traffic with the Indians. Some 
traders from Plymouth sailing up the river were stopped by 

* To distiuguish it from the islands alon^ the coast, this country had heen called 
the Majme (main) land, which perhaps gave rise to its present name. New Hamp- 
shire was so called from Hampshire in England, Mason's home. The settlers of New 
Hampshire were long vexed with suits brought by the men into whose hands Mason's 
grant had fallen. 

t This state is named from its principal river— Connecticut being the Indian word 
for Long Riv&r. 



62 EPOCH II. [1633. 

the Dutch, who threatened to fire upon them. But they 
kept on and established a post at Windsor (win'-zer). Many 
people from Boston, allured by the rich meadow lands, settled 
near. In the autumn of 1635, John Steele, one of the proprie- 
tors of Cambridge, led a pioneer company "out west," as it 
was then called, and laid the foundations of Hartford. The 
next year the main band, with their pastor — Thomas Hooker, 
a most eloquent and estimable man — came, driving their 
flocks before them through the wilderness. In the meantime 
John Winthrop* established a fort at the mouth of the river, 
and thus shut out the Dutch. This colony, in honor of the 
proprietors, was named Saybrook. 

The Pequod War. — The colonists had no sooner be- 
come settled in their new home than the Pequod Indians 
endeavored to persuade the Narragansets to Join them in a 
general attack upon the whites. Eoger Williams hearing of 
this, and forgetting all the injuries he had received, on 
a stormy night set out in his canoe for the Indian village. 
Though the Pequod messengers were present, he prevailed 
upon the old Narraganset chief to remain at home. So the 
Pequods lost their ally and were forced to fight alone. They 
commenced by murdering thirty colonists. Captain Mason, 
therefore, resolved to attack their stronghold on the Mystic 
Eiver. His party approached the fort at daybreak (June 4, 
1637). Aroused by the barking of a dog, the sleepy sentinel 
shouted " Owanux ! Owanux ! " (the Englishmen !) but it was 
too late. The troops were already within the palisades. The 
Indians, rallying, made a fierce resistance, when Captain Mason, 

* John Winthrop appears in history without hlemish. Highly educated and 
accomplished, he was no less upright and generous. In the bloom of life, he left all 
his brilliant prospects in the old world to follow the fortunes of the new. When his 
father had made himself poor in nurturing the Massachusetts colony, this noble son 
gave up voluntarily his own large inheritance to " further the good work." It was 
through his personal infiuerce and popularity at court that the liberal charter waa 
procured from Charles II. which guaranteed freedom to Connecticut. 



l662.] DEVELOPMEJTT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 63 

seizing a firebrand, hurled it among the wigwams. The 
flames quickly swept through the encampment. The Eng- 
lish themselves barely escaped. The few Indians who fled to 
the swamps were hunted down. The tribe perished in a day. 

The Three Colonies. — 1. TJie Neio Haven Colony was 
founded (1638) by a number of wealthy London families. 
They took the Bible for law, and only church members could 
vote. 2. The Connecticut Colony, proper, comprising Hart- 
ford, Wethersfield and Windsor, adopted a written constitu- 
tion in which it was agreed to give to all freemen the right 
to vote. This was the first instance in history of a loritten 
constitution framed hy tlie peoiile. 3. The Saybrook Colony 
was at first governed by the proprietors, but Avas after- 
ward sold to the Connecticut colony. This reduced the three 
colonies to two. 

A Royal Charter was obtained (1662) which united 
both these colonies and guaranteed to all the rights upon 
which the Connecticut 
colonists had agreed. This 
was a precious document, 
since it gave them almost 
independence, and was 
the most favorable yet 
granted to any colony. 
Twenty-four years after, 
Governor Andros march- 
ing from Boston over the 
route where the pious Hooker had led his little flock fifty 
years before, came "glittering with scarlet and lace" into 
the assembly at Hartford, and demanded the charter. A pro- 
tracted, debate ensued. The people crowded around to take a 
last look at this guarantee of their liberties, when suddenly 
the lights were extinguished. On being relighted, the charter 




THE CHARTER OAK. 



64 EPOCH II. [1687. 

was gone. William Wadsworth had seized it, escaped through 
the crowd and hidden it in the hollow of a tree, famous ever 
after as the Charter Oak. However, Andros pronounced the 
charter government at an end. " Finis " was written at the 
close of the minutes of their last meeting. When the gov- 
ernor was so summarily deposed in Boston the people brought 
the charter from its hiding-place, the general court reassem- 
bled, and the ''finis " disappeared.* 



RHODE ISLAND. 

Settlement. — Roger Williamsf settled Providence Planta- 
tion in 1636, the year in which Hooker came to Hartford. 
Other exiles from Massachusetts followed, J among them the 
celebrated Mrs. Hutchinson. A party of these purchased § 
the island of Aquiday and established the Rhode Island Plan- 
tation. Roger Williams stamped upon these colonies his 

* Another attempt to infringe upon charter rights occurred in 1693. Governor 
Fletcher ordered the militia placed under his own command. Having called them 
out to listen to his royal commission, he began to read. Immediately Captain 
Wadsworth ordered the drums to be beaten. Fletcher commanded silence, and began 
again. " Drum, drum ! " cried Wadsworth. " Silence 1 " shouted the governor. 
" Drum, drum, I say 1 " repeated the captain ; and then turning to Fletcher, with a 
meaning look, he added: "If I am interrupted again, I will make the sun shine 
through you." The governor did not press the matter.— The story of the Charter 
Oak is denied by some, who claim that contemporary history does not mention it, 
and that probably Andros seized the charter, while the colonists had previously made 
a copy. 

+ William Blackstone, being as dissatisfied with the yoke of the "lords brethren" 
in Boston as with that of the " lord bishops " in England, some time before this re- 
moved to the banks of what is now called the Blackstone, near Providence. He, 
however, acknowledged the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. 

X Persecuted refugees from all quarters flocked to Providence ; and Williams 
shared equally with all the lands he had obtained, reserving to himself only two 
small fields which, on his first arrival, he had planted with his own hands. 

§ An island of a reddish appearance was observed lying in the bay. This was 
known to the Dutch as Roode or Red Island. Hence the name of the IslaBd and 
State of Rhode Y^^nd .—Brodhead. 



1638.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 65 

favorite idea of religious toleration, i. e., that the civil power 
has no right to interfere with the religious opinions of men. 
A Charter. — The colonists wished to join the New Eng- 
land Union, but were refused on the ostensible plea that 
they had no charter. Williams accordingly visited England 
and obtained a charter uniting the two plantations. On his 
return the people met, elected their officers, and (1647) 
agreed on a set of laws guaranteeing freedom of faith and 
worsnip to all, — ''the first legal declaration of liberty of 
conscience ever adopted in Europe or America." 



NEW YORK. 



Settlement. — Soon after the discovery of the Hudson, as 
previously described (p. 39), Dutch ships began to visit the 
river to traffic in furs with the Indians. Afterward the West 
India Company obtained a grant of New Netherland, and 
under its patronage permanent settlements were made at New 
Amsterdam* and also at Fort Orange (Albany). The com- 
pany allowed persons who should plant a colony of fifty 
settlers to select and buy land of the Indians, which it was 
agreed should descend to their heirs forever. These persons 
were called "patroons" (patrons) of the manor. 

The Four Dutch Governors. — The history of New York 

* Some huts were built by the Dutch traders on Manhattan Island in 1613. and a 
trading-post was established a year or two after. A fort was completed, in 1615, 
Bouth of the present site of Albany. Eight or nine years later, a party of W alloons 
or Protestants from Belgian provinces were brought over by the company. About 
the same time, Fort Orange was erected, and eighteen families built their bark huta 
under its protection. In 1628, Minuit, the first governor, arrived in New Amsterdam, 
and purchased Manhattan Island of the Indians for about $34, nearly 1 mill per acre.— 
Some of the old Dutch manors remain to this day. The famous anti-rent difficulties 
(p. 182) grew out of such titles. 



66 



EPOCH II. 



[1626. 



for twenty years is only an account of Indian butcheries, 
varied by difficulties with the Swedes on the Delaware, and 
the English on the Connecticut. * These disturbances are 
monotonous enough in the recital, but doubtless thrilled the 
blood of the early Knickerbockers. Peter Stuyresant was the 
last and ablest of the four Dutch governors. He agreed with 
Connecticut upon the boundary line, and taking an armed 




THE ENGLISH LANDING AT NEW YORK, 1664. 

force, marched upon the Swedes, who at once submitted to 
him. But the old Governor hated democratic institutions, 
and was terribly vexed in this wise. There were some Eng- 
lish in the colony, and they longed for the rights of self- 
government v/hich the Connecticut people enjoyed. They 
kept demanding these privileges and talking of them to their 
Dutch neighbors. At this juncture an English fleet came to 

* These disputes arose from the fact that the Dutch claimed the territory lying 
between the Delaware and the Coanccticat. 



1664.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH CO-LONIES. 67 

anchor in the harbor, and demanded the surrender of the 
town in the name of the Duke of York. Stout-hearted old 
Peter pleaded with his council to fight. But in vain. They 
rather liked the idea of English rule. The surrender was 
signed, and at last the reluctant governor attached his name. 
In September, 1664, the English flag floated over Manhattan 
Island. The colony was named New York in honor of the 
proprietor. 

The English Governors disappointed the people by not 
granting them their coveted rights. A remonstrance against 
being taxed without representation was burned by the hang- 
man. So that when, after nine years of English rule, a 
Dutch fleet appeared in the harbor, the people went back 
quietly under their old rulers. But the next year peace 
being restored between England and Holland, New Amster- 
dam became New York again. Thus ended the Dutch rule 
in the colonies. Andros, who twelve years after played the 
tyrant in New England, was the next governor, but he ruled 
so arbitrarily that he was called home. Under his successor, 
Dongan, an assembly of the representatives of the people was 
called, by permission of the Duke of York. This was but a 
transient gleam of civil freedom, for two years after, when 
the Duke of York became James II., king of England, he 
forgot aU his promises, forbade legislative assemblies, pro- 
hibited printing-presses, and annexed the colony to New 
England. When, however, Andros was driven from Bos- 
ton, Nicholson, his lieutenant and apt tool of tyranny in 
New York, fled at once. Captain Leisler, supported by the 
democracy but bitterly opposed by the aristocracy, thereupon 
administered affairs very prudently until the arrival of Gov- 
ernor Sloughter (slaw-ter) who arrested him on the absurd 
charge of treason. Sloughter was unwilling to execute him, 
but Leisler's enemies, at a dinner party, made the governor 



68 • EPOCH II. [1691. 

drunk, obtained bis signature, and before he became sober 
enough to repent, Leisler was no more. * 

From this time till the Eevolution, the struggles of the 
people with the royal governors for their rights, developed 
the spirit of liberty and paved the way for that eventful crisis. 



NEW JERSEY. 

Settlement. — The present State of New Jersey was em- 
braced in the territory of New Netherland, and the Dutch 
made settlements at several places near New York. Soon 
after New Netherland passed into the hands of the Duke of 
York, he gave the land f between the Hudson and the Dela- 
ware to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. In 1664, a 
company from Long Island and New England settled at 
Elizabethtown, which they named after Carteret's wife. This 
was the first permanent English settlement in the State. 

East and West Jersey. — Lord Berkeley sold his share 
to some English Quakers. This part was called West Jersey. 
A company of Quakers soon settled at Burlington. Others 
followed, and thus West Jersey became a Quaker colony. Sir 
George Carteret's portion was called ^ast Jersey. After 

* For many years the Atlantic Ocean was infested by pirates. A little after the 
events narrated above, William Kidd,a New York shipmaster, was sent out to cruise 
against these sea-robbers. He turned pirate himself and became the most noted of 
them all. Returning from his cruise, he was at length captured while boldly walking 
in the streets of Boston. He was carried to England, tried, and hung. His name 
and deeds have been woven into popular romance, and the song " My name is Cap- 
tain Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed," is well known. He is believed to have buried his 
ill-gotten riches on the coast of Long Island or the banks of the Hudson, and these 
localities have been oftentimes searched by credulous persons seeking for Kidd's 
treasure. 

t This tract was called New Jersey in honor of Carteret, who had been governor of 
Jersey island in the English Channel. 



l682.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 69 

his death it was sold to William Penn and eleven other 
Quakers.* 

New Jersey United. — Constant disputes arose out of 
the land titles. Among so many proprietors the tenants 
hardly knew from whom to obtain their titles for land. The 
proprietors finally (1702) surrendered their rights of govern- 
ment to the English crown, and the whole of New Jersey 
was united with New York under one governor, but with a 
separate assembly. Thirty-six years after, at the earnest 
request of the people, New Jersey was set apart as a distinct 
royal province. 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 

Settlement. — The first permanent settlement in Dela- 
ware was made (1638) by the Swedes, on a tract which they 
called New Sweden, lying near Wilmington. They also 
made the first settlement in Pennsylvania, a few miles below 
Philadelphia. The Dutch subsequently conquered these set- 
tlements, but they continued to prosper long after the 
Swedish and Dutch rule had yielded to the constantly 
growing English -power. 

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was a cele^ 
brated English Quaker, f He obtained from Charles II. a 

* It was settled, however, largely by Puritans and Scotch Presbyterians. The 
latter having refused to accept the English form of religion, had been bitterly perse- 
cuted. Fleeing their native country they found an asylum in this favored land. 

t The Quakers, avoiding unmeaning forms, aim to lead purely spiritual lives. 
Their usual worship is conducted in solemn silence, each soul for itself. They take 
no oath, make no compliments, remove not the hat to king or ruler, and " thee" and 
" thou " both friend and foe. Every day is to them a holy day, and the Sabbath 
simply a day of rest. We can readily see how this must have scandalized the 
Puritans. 

William Peni> became a Quaker while in college at Oxford. Befusing to wear the 



70 EPOCHII. [1682. 

grant of the land lying west of the Delaware. This tract 
Penn named Sylvania, but the king insisted upon calling it 
Pennsylvania* (Penn's woods). The Duke of York added to 
this grant the present State of Delaware, which soon came 
to be termed the "Three lower counties on the Delaware." 
Penn wished to form a refuge for his Quaker brethren, who 
were bitterly persecuted in England. He at once sent over 
large numbers, as many as two thousand in a single year. 
The next year he came himself, and was received by the 
settlers with the greatest cordiality and respect. 

Philadelphia Founded.— The year following (1683) 
Penn purchased land of the Swedes and laid out a city which 
he named Philadelphia, signifying hrotherly love. It was in 
the midst of the forest, and the startled deer bounded past 
the settler who came to survey his new home. Yet within a 
year it contained one hundred houses ; in two years num- 
bered over two thousand inhabitants ; and in three years 
gained more than New York had in half a century. 

The Great Lavr was a code agreed upon by the legisla- 
tive body which Penn called from among the settlers soon 
after his arrival. It made faith in Christ a necessary quali- 
fication for voting and office-holding ; but also provided that 
no one believing in ''Almighty God" should be molested in 
his religious views. The Quakers, having been persecuted 

customary student's surplice, he with others violently assaulted some fellow-students 
and stripped them of their robes. For this he was expelled. His father would not 
allow him to return home. Afterward relenting, he sent him to Paris, Cork, and 
other cities, to soften his Quaker peculiarities. After several unhappy quarrels, his 
father proposed to overlook all else if he would only consent to doflE his hat to the 
king, the Duke of York, and himself. Penn still refusing, he was again turned out 
of doors. He was several times imprisoned for his religious extremes. On the death 
of his father, to whom he had once more been reconciled, he became heir to quite a 
fortune. He took the territory which forms Pennsylvania in payment of a debt of 
£16,000 due his father from the crown. 

* Penn offered the secretary who drew up the charter twenty guineas to leave off 
the prefix " Penn." This request being denied, the king was appealed to, who com* 
jnanded the tract to be called Pennsylvania, in honor of William Penn'a father, 



1683.] DEVELOPMEKT OF ENGLISH COLOlSriES. 71 



themselves, did not celebrate their liberty by persecuting 
others. Penn, himself, surrendered the most of his power to 
the people. His highest ambition seemed to be to advance 
their interests. He often declared that if he knew anything 
more that could make them happier, he would freely grant it. 

Penn's Treaty ■with the Indians* possesses a romantic 
interest. He met them un- 
der a large elm treef near 
Philadelphia. The savages 
were touched by his gentle 
words and kindly bearing. 
" We will live in love with 
William Penn and his chil- 
dren," said they, ''as long 
as the sun and moon shall 
shine. "J 

Penn's Return. — Penn 
returned to England (1684) 
leaving the colony fairly 
established. His benevo- 
lent spirit shone forth in 
his parting words, "Dear 
friends, my love salutes 
you all." 

Delaware. — The three lower counties on the Delaware 

* " We meet," said Penn, " on the broad pathway of good faith and good will ; no 
advantage shall be taken on either side, but all shall be openness and love. The 
friendship between you and me I will not compare to a chain ; for that the rains 
might rust or the falling tree might break. We are the same as if one man's body 
were to be divided into two parts ; we are all one flesh and blood." 

t This tree was carefully preserved until 1810, when it was blown down. A mon- 
ument now marks the spot. 

X The simple-minded natives kept the history of this treaty by means of strings 
of wampum, and they would often count over the shells on a clean piece of bark and 
rehearse its provisions. " It was the only treaty never sworn to, and the only one 
never broken." On every hand the Indians waged relentless war with the colouiea, 
but they never shed a drop of Quaker blood. 




STATUE OF PENN IN PHILADELPHIA. 



72 EPOCH II. [1690. 

being greatly offended by the action of tbe council which 
Penn had left to govern in his absence, set up for themselves. 
Penn "sorrowfully" consented to their action, appointed a 
deputy governor over them, and afterward granted them an 
assembly. Pennsylvania and Delaware, however, remained 
under one governor until the Eevolution. 

Penn's Heirs after his death (1718) became proprietors 
of the flourishing colony he had established. It was ruled by 
deputies whom they appointed, until (1779) the State of 
Pennsylvania bought out their claims by the payment of 
about half a million of dollars. 



MARYLAND. 



Settlement. — Lord Baltimore* [Cecil Calvert], a Catholic, 
was anxious to secure for the friends of his church a refuge 
from the persecutions which they were then suffering in 
England, f He accordingly obtained from King Charles a 
grant of land lying north of the Potomac. The first settle- 
ment was made (1634) by his brother at an Indian village 
which he called St. Mary's, near the mouth of the Potomac. 

The Charter was very different from that granted to Vir- 

* His father, George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, with this same design had 
attempted to plant a colony in Newfoundland. But having failed on account of the 
severity of the climate, he visited Virginia. When he found that the Catholics were 
there treated with great harshness, he returned to England, took out a grant of land, 
and bestowed upon it, in honor of the queen, Henrietta Maria, the name Maryland. 
Ere the patent had received the great seal of the king, Lord Baltimore died. His 
son, inheriting the father's noble and benevolent views, secured the grant himself, 
and carried out the philanthropic scheme. 

+ It is curious to observe how largely this country was peopled in its earlier days 
by refugees for religious faith. The Huguenots, the Puritans, the Quakers, the 
Presbyterians, the Catholics, the persecuted of every sect and creed, all flocked to 
this " home of the free." 



1632.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 73 

ginia, since it gave to all freemen a voice in making the laws. 
An Assembly, called in accordance with this provision, passed 
(1649) the celebrated Toleration Act, which secured to all 
Christians hberty to worship God according to the dictates of 
their own conscience. Maryland, like Ehode Island,* became 
an asylum for the persecuted. 

Civil Wars.— 1. Claylorne's Rebellion (1635).— The Vir- 
ginia colony claimed that Lord Baltimore's grant covered 
territory belonging to them. Clayborne, a member of the 
Jamestown council, was especially obstinate in the matter. 
He had already established two trading posts in Maryland, 
which he prepared to defend by force of arms. A bloody 
skirmish ensued, in which his party was beaten. He, him- 
self, had fled to Virginia, on the eve of battle, but being 
accused of treason, was sent to England for trial. He was, 
however, acquitted of this charge. Ten years afterward he 
came back, raised a rebellion, and drove Calvert, then governor 
of Maryland, out of the colony. The governor returned at 
last with a strong force, and Clayborne fled. This ended the 
contest. 

2. The Protestafits and the Catholics. — The Protestants, 
having obtained a majority in the Assembly, made a most 
ungrateful use of their power. They refused to acknowledge 
the hereditary rights of the proprietor, assailed his religion, 
excluded Catholics from the Assembly, and even declared 
them outside the protection of the law. Civil war ensued, 
For years the victory alternated. At one time two govern- 
ments, one Protestant, the other Catholic, were sustained. 
In 1691, Lord Baltimore was entirely deprived of his rights 
as proprietor, and Maryland became a royal province. The 

* Two years before, Rhode Island had passed an act protecting every kind of re- 
ligious faith and worship. Maryland extended protection to all forms of Christianity 
alone. 



74 EPOCH II. [1691. 

Church of England was established, and the Catholics were 
again disfranchised in the very province they had planted. 
In 1715, the fourth Lord Baltimore recovered the govern- 
ment, and religious toleration was again restored. Maryland 
remained under this administration until the Revolution. 



THE CAROLINAS. 



Settlement. — Lord Clarendon and several other noblemen 
obtained (1663) from Charles II. * a grant of a vast tract south 
of Virginia, which was termed in honor of the king, Caro- 
lina. Two permanent settlements were soon made. 1. The 
Albemarle^ Colony. This was a name given to a plantation 
which was already settled by people who had pushed through 
the wilderness from Virginia. A governor from their own 
number was appointed over them. They were then left in 
quiet to enjoy their liberties and forget the world. J 2. The 
Carteret Colony was established (1670) by English emigrants. 
They first sailed into the well-known waters where Ribaut 
anchored and the fort of Carolina was erected so long before. 
Landing, they began a settlement on the banks of the Ashley, 
but afterward removed to the " ancient groves covered with 
yellow jessamine," which marked the site of the present 
city of Charleston. The growth of this colony was rapid 
from the first. Thither came shiploads of Dutch from New 
York, dissatisfied with the English rule and attracted by the 

* This in Latin is Carolus n. 

t Both colonies were named after prominent proprietors of the grant 
X Except when rent day came. Then they were called upon to pay to the Engliflb 
proprietors a half-penny per acre. 



l682.] DEVELOPMENT OF EKGLISH COLONIES. 75 

genial climate. The Huguenots (French Protestants), hunted 
from their homes, here found a southern welcome. * 

The Grand Model was a form of government for the 
colonies prepared by Lord Shaftesbury and the celebrated 
philosopher, John Locke. It was a magnificent scheme. The 
wilderness was to be divided into vast estates, with which 
hereditary titles were to be granted. But the model was 
aristocratic, while the people were democratic. It granted no 
rights of self-government, while the settlers came into the wil- 
derness for the love of liberty. This was not the soil on which 
vain titles and empty pomp could flourish. To make the Grand 
Model a success, it would have been necessary to transform 
the log-cabin into a baronial castle, and the independent 
settlers into armed retainers. The attempt to introduce it 
arousing violent opposition, it was at length abandoned. 

North and South Carolina Separated. — The two 
colonies, — the northern, or Albemarle, and the southern, or 
Carteret, — being so remote from each other, had from the 
beginning separate governors, though they remained one 
province. There was constant friction between the settlers 
and the proprietors. The people were Jealous. The pro- 
prietors were arbitrary. Kents, taxes, and rights were jjlenti- 
ful sources of irritation. Things kept on in this unsettled 
way until (1729) the discouraged proprietors ceded to the 
crown their right of government and seven-eighths of the soil. 
The two colonies were separated and they remained royal 
provinces until the Kevolution. 

* In Charleston alone there were at one time as many as 16,000 Huguenots. They 
added whole streets to the city. Their severe morality, marked charity, elegant 
manners and thrifty habits, made them a most desirable acquisition. They brought 
the mulberry and olive, and established magnificent plantations on the banks of the 
Cooper. They also introduced many choice varieties of pears, which still bear illus- 
trious Huguenot names. Their descendants are eminently honorable, and have borne 
a proud part in the establishment of our Republic. Of seven presidents who were 
at the head of the Congress of Philadelphia during the Revolution, three were of 
Huguenot parentage. 



76 EPOCH II. [1732. 



GEORGIA. 

Settlement. — The same year in which Washington was 
born (1732), this last colony of the famous thirteen which 
were to fight for independence under him was planned. 
James Oglethorpe, a warm-hearted English ofl&cer, having 
conceived the idea of founding a refuge for debtors burdened 
by the severe laws of that time, naturally turned to America, 
even then the home of the oppressed. George II. granted 
him "in trust for the poor" a tract of land which, in 
honor of the king, was called Georgia. Oglethorpe settled 
at Savannah in 1733.* A general interest was excited in 
England, and many charitable people gave liberally to pro- 
mote the enterprise. More emigrants followed, including, as 
in the other colonies, many who sought religious or civil 
liberty, f The trustees limited the size of a man's farm, 
did not allow women to inherit land, and forbade the 
importation of rum, J or of slaves. These restrictions were 
irksome, and gi-eat discontent prevailed. At last the trustees, 

* He made peace with the Indians, conciliating them hy presents and by his 
kindly disposition. One of the chiefs gave him in i-eturn a buffalo's sliin with the 
head and feathers of an eagle painted on the inside of it, " The eagle," said the 
chie', " signifies swiftness ; and the buffalo strength. The English are swift as a 
bird to fly over the vast seas, and as strong as a beast before their enemies. The 
eagle's feathers are soft and signify love ; the buffalo's skin is warm and means pro- 
tection ; therefore love and protect our families." 

t The gentle Moravians and sturdy Scotch Highlanders were among the number, 
and proved a valuable acquisition to the colony. The former had fled hither 
from Austria, for "conscience' sake." Having founded a little colony among the 
pine forests of Georgia, they named it Ebenezer,— taking as their motto " Hitherto 
hath the Lord helped us." When John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, came to 
America as a missionary with his brother Charles, they were greatly charmed with 
the fervent piety of this simple people. The celebrated George Whitfield afterward 
founded at Savannah an orphan asylum, which he supported by contributions from 
the immense audiences which his wonderful eloquence attracted. On one occasion 
sixty thousand were gathered to hear him, and his open-air meetings were often 
attended by from twenty thousand to forty thousand people. 

t Rum was obtained in exchange for lumber in the West Indies. Hence this law 
prevented that trade and cut off a valuable source of profit. 



1752.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 77 

wearied by the complaints of the colonists, surrendered their 
charter to the crown. Georgia remained a royal province 
till the Kevolution. 



INTER-COLONIAL WARS. 

I. KING WILLIAM'S WAR. 
(1689-1697.) 

Cause. — War having broken out in Europe between Eng- 
land and France, their colonies in America took up the 
quarrel. The Indians of Canada and Maine aided the 
French, and the Iroquois (Five Nations of New York) 
assisted the English. 

Attacks upon the Colonists. — War parties of the 
French and Indians coming down on their snow-shoes from 
Canada through the forest in the depth of winter, fell upon 
the exposed settlements of New York and New England, 
and committed the most horrible barbarities. Schenectady, 
unsuspecting and defenceless, was attacked at midnight. 
Men, women, and children were dragged from their beds 
and tomahawked. The few who escaped, half -naked, made 
their way through the snow of that fearful night to Albany. * 

* The histories of the time abound in thrilling stories of Indian adventure. One 
day in March, 1697, Haverhill, Mass., was attacked. Mr. Dustin was at work in the 
field. Hurrying to his hou.«e, he brought out his seven children, and bidding them 
" run ahead," slowly retreated, keeping the Indians back with his gun. He thus 
brought off his little flock in safetj'. His wife, who was unable to escape with him, 
was dragged into captivity. The party who had captured Mrs. Dustin marched many 
days through the forest, and at length reached an island in the Merrimac. Here she 
resolved to escape. A white boy, who had been taken prisoner before, found out 
from his master, at Mrs. Dustin's request, how to strike a blow that would produce 
instant death, and how to take off a scalp. Having learned these facts, in the night 



78 



EPOCH II. 



[1689. 




THE INDIAN ATTACK ON SCHENECTADY. 



Attacks by the Colonists. — Aroused by these scenes of 
savage ferocity, the colonists organized two expeditions, one 
under Governor Phipps of Massachusetts, against Port 
Royal, Acadia, and the other a combined land and naval 
attack on Canada. The former was successful, and secured, 
it is said, plunder enough to pay the expenses of the expe- 
dition. The latter was a disastrous failure. 

Peace. — The war lasted eight years. It was ended by 
the treaty of Ryswick (riz'-wik), according to which each 
party held the territory it had at the beginning of the 
struggle. 

she awoke the boy and her nurse, and arranged their parts. The task was soon done. 
Seizing each a tomahawk, they killed ten of the sleeping Indians ; only one escaped. 
She then scalped the dead bodies, in order to prove her story when she should reach 
home, and hastened to the bank, where, finding a canoe, they descended the river and 
eoon rejoined her family. 



1702.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 79 



II. QUEEN ANNE'S WAR. 
(1702-1713.) 

Cause. — England having declared war against France and 
Spain, hostilities broke out between their colonies. The 
Five Nations had made a treaty with the French, and so 
took no part in the contest. Their neutrality protected 
New York from invasion. Consequently, the brunt of the 
war fell on New England. 

Attacks upon the Colonists. — The New England fron- 
tier was again desolated. * Kemote settlements were aban- 
doned. The people betook themselves to palisaded houses, 
and worked their farms with their guns always at hand. 

Attacks by the Colonists. — 1. Jt the South. — South 
Carolina made a fruitless expedition against her old enemies 
at St. Augustine (1702). f 

2. At the North. — Port Eoyal was again wrested from the 
French by a combined force of English and colonial troops. 

* On the last night of February, 1704, while the pnow was four feet deep, a party 
of about three hundred and fifty French and Indians reached a pine forest near Deer- 
field, Mass. They skulked about till the unfaithful sentinels deserted the morning 
watch, when they rushed upon the defenceless slumberers, who awoke from their 
dreams to death or captivity. Leaving the blazing village with forty-seven dead 
bodies to be consumed amid the wreck, they then started back with their train of one 
hundred and twelve captives. The horrors of that march through the wilderness can 
never be told. The groan of helpless exhaustion, or the wail of sufi'ering childhood, 
was instantly stilled by the pitiless tomahawk. Mrs. Williams, the feeble wife of the 
minister, had remembered her Bible in the midst of surprise, and comforted herself 
with its promises, till, her strength failing, she commended her five captive children 
to God and bent to the savage blow of the war-axe. One of her daughters grew up 
in captivity, embraced the Catholic faith, and became the wife of a chief. Years after 
she visited her friends in Deerfield. The whole village joined in a fast for her deliv- 
erance, but her heart loved best her own Mohawk children, and she went back to the 
fires of her Indian wigwam. 

+ Four years after, the' French and Spanish in Havana sent a fleet against Charles- 
ton. The people, however, valiantly defended themselves, aud soon drove off theii 
assailants. 



80 EPOCH II. [1710- 

In honor of the queen, the name was changed to Annapolis. 
Another expedition sailed against Quebec, but many of the 
ships were dashed upon the rocks in the St. Lawrence, and 
nearly one thousand men perished. Thus ended the second 
attempt to conquer Canada. 

Peace. — The war lasted eleven years. It was ended by 
the treaty of Utrecht (u-trekt), according to which Acadia 
was ceded to England. 

III. KING GEORGE'S WAR.* 

(1744-1748.) 

Capture of Louisburg. — War having again broken out 
between England and France, the flame was soon kindled in 
the new world. The only event of importance was the cap- 
ture of Louisburg f on the island of Cape Breton, by a com- 
bined force of English and colonial troops. The latter did 
most of the fighting, but the former took the glory and the 

* This war was immediately preceded by what is known as the " Spanish War," 
•which grew out of the difficulties then existing between England and Spain. It was 
marked by no Important event in the colonies. Governor Oglethorpe invested (1740) 
St. Augustine with a force of two thousand men, but the strength of the Spanish gar- 
rison, and the loss by sickness, caused the attempt to be abandoned. The Spaniards, 
in their turn, sent (1742) an expedition against Georgia. By means of a letter which 
Governor Oglethorpe caused to fall into the hands of the Spaniards, they were made 
to believe that he expected large reinforcements. Being frightened, they burned the 
fort they had captured, and fled in haste. The colonies, also, furnished about four 
thousand men for an expedition against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies ; 
but only a few hundred ever returned from this disastrous enterprise. 

t Louisburg was called the " Gibraltar of America." Its fortifications were exten- 
sive, and cost upward of $5,000,000. The siege was conducted in the most unscientific 
way, the colonial troops laughing at military terms and discipline. When the place 
was captured, they were themselves astonished at what they had done. The achieve- 
ment called forth great rejoicing over the country, especially in New England, and 
had an influence on the Revolutionary W^ar, thirty years after. Colonel Gridley, who 
planned General Pepperell's batteries in this siege, laid out the American intrench- 
ments on Bunker Hill. The same old drums that beat the triumphal entrance of the 
New Euglanders into Louisburg,- June 17, 1745, beat at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. 
"When General Gage was erecting inlrenchments on Boston Neck, the provincials 
sneeringly remarked that his mud walls were nothing compared to the stouc walls of 
eld Louisburg." 



1748.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLOKIES. 81 

booty. Peace being made in 1748 by the treaty of Aix-la- 
Chapelle (akes-la-sha-pel), England gave back Louisburg to 
the French. The boundaries between the French and Eng- 
lish colonies were left undecided, and so the germ of a new 
war remained. 

IV. FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 
(1754-1763.) 

Cause. — The English occupied at this time a narrow strip 
along the coast one thousand miles in length. It was like a 
string to the great bow of the French territory which reached 
around from Quebec to New Orleans. Both nations claimed 
the region west of the Alleghany Mountains, along the Ohio 
Kiver. The three previous inter-colonial wars had engen- 
dered bitter hatred, and occasions of quarrel were abundant. 
The French had over sixty military posts guarding the long 
line of their possessions. They seized the English surveyors 
along the Ohio.* They broke up a British post on the 
Miami, f They built a fort at Presque Isle (pres-keel) near 
the present town of Erie, Penn. ; another. Fort le Boeuf (le 
biif), at the present town of Waterford ; and a third. Fort 
Venango, about twelve miles south, on French Creek. 
These encroachments awakened the liveliest solicitude on the 
part of the colonists. 

Washington's Journey. — Din-wid'-die, lieutenant-gov- 
ernor of Virginia, accordingly sent a message by George 
Washington, then a young man of twenty-one, to the French 
commander of these forts, asking their removal. Washington, 

* The claims of the real proprietors, the Indians, were overlooked by both the Eng- 
lish and the French. The Indians, feeling this, sent to the agent of the Ohio Company 
the pertinent query, " Where is the Indian's land ? The English claim all on one 
side of the river, the French all on the other. Where does our land lie ? " 

+ The Indian allies of the French having captured the Miami chief who defended 
his English friends, killed and ate him, in true savage style. 



82 



EPOCH II, 



[1753. 



the very day lie received his credentials, set out on his perilous 
journey through the wilderness from Williamsburg to Lake 
Erie. He found the French officer at Fort Venango loud 
and boastful. At Fort le Boeuf the commandant, St. Pierre 
(sang-pe-are), treated him with gi'eat respect ; but, like a 
true soldier, refused to discuss theories, and declared himself 



.^ If^^- 




-^'VJsS^S^-; 



AN INCIDENT OF WASHINGTON'S RETURN. 



under orders which he should obey. It was clear that France 
"was determined to hold the territory explored by the heroic 
La Salle and Marquette. The shore in front of the fort was 
eyen then lined with canoes ready for an intended expedition 
down the river. Washington's return through the wilderness, 
a distance of four hundred miles, was full of peril, * At last 
he reached home unharmed, and delivered St. Pierre's reply. 

* The streams were swollen. The snow was falling and freezing as it fell. The 
horses gave out, and he was forced to proceed on foot. With only one companion, 
he quitted the usual path, and, with the compass as his guide, struck boldly out 



I754-] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 83 

War Opens. — Early the next spring, the French, at the 
fork of the Monongahela and Alleghany, drove off a party 
of English traders and erected a fort, which was called Du 
Quesne (doo-kane). Soon, among the blackened stumps, 
corn and barley were growing on the present site of Pittsburg. 
In the meantime, a regiment of Virginia troops, under Colonel 
Frye, Washington being second in command, had been sent 
out to occupy this important point. Learning that the 
French had anticipated them, Washington hastened forward 
with a reconnoitering party. Jumonville (zhoo-mong-veel), 
who was hiding among the rocks with a company of French 
troops, waiting an opportunity to attack him, was himself 
surprised and defeated. * On the death of Colonel Frye, soon 
after, Washington assumed command. Collecting the troops 
at the Great Meadows, he erected a stockade, which he aptly 
named Fort Necessity. Here he was attacked by a large force 
of French and Indians, and after a severe conflict was com- 
pelled to capitulate. 

The Five Objective Points of the War.— 1. Fort du 
Quesne was the key to the region west of the Alleghanies, and 
as long as the French held it, Virginia and Pennsylvania were 
exposed to Indian attacks. 2. The possession of Louisburg 
and Acadia threatened New England, while it gave control 
over the Newfoundland fisheries. French privateers harbored 
there, darted out and captured English ships, and then re- 
turned where they were safe from pursuit. 3. Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga controlled the route to Canada by the way 

through the forest. An Indian, lying in wait, fired at him only a few paces oflf, bnt 

missing, was captured. Attempting to cross the Alleghany on a rude raft, they were 
caught between large masses of ice floating down the rapid current of the mid- 
channel. Washington thrust out his pole to check the speed, but was jerked into 
the foaming water. Swimming to an island, he barely saved his life. Fortunately, 
in the morning the river was frozen over, and he escaped on the ice. 

* Washington's word of command to "fire 1" upon that skulking foe, on the night 
of May 28, 1754, was the opening of the campaign. Washington himself, it is paid, 
fired the firpt gun of that lon;r and bloody war. 



84 EPOCH II. [I75S- 

of Lake George and Lake Champlain, and also offered a safe 
starting-point for French expeditions against New York and 
New England. 4. Niagara lay on the portage between Lake 
Erie and Lake Ontario, and thus protected the great fur 
trade of the upper lakes and the West. 5. Quebec being 
the strongest fortification in Canada, gave control of the 
St. Lawrence, and largely decided the possession of that 
proyince. 

We thus see why these points were so persistently attacked 
by the English, and so obstinately defended by the French. 
We shall speak of them in order. 

1. Fort du Quesne. — The First Expedition (1755) was 
commanded by General Braddock, Washington acting as 
aide-de-camp. The general was a regular British officer, 
proud and conceited. Washington warned him of the dan- 
gers of savage warfare, but his suggestions were received with 
contempt. * The column came within ten miles of the fort, 
marching along the Monongahela in regular array, drums 
beating and colors flying. Suddenly, in ascending a little 
slope, with a deep ravine and thick underbrush on either side, 
they encountered the Indians lying in ambush. The terrible 
war-whoop resounded on every hand. The British regulars 
huddled together, and, frightened, fired by platoons, at ran- 
dom, against rocks and trees. The Virginia troops alone 
sprang into the forest and fought the savages in Indian 
style. Washington seemed everywhere present. An Indian 
chief with his braves especially singled him out. f Four balls 
passed through his clothes. Two horses were shot under 
him. Braddock was mortally wounded and borne from the 

* " The Indians," said Braddock, " may frighten continental troops, but they can 
make no impression on the king's regulars ! " 

t Fifteen years after, this okl Indian chief came " a long way" to see the Virginia 
officer at whom he flred a rifle fifteen times without hitting him, during the Monon- 
gahela fight. Washington never received a wound in battle. 



I7S5-] DEVELOPMENT OF EKGLISH COLONIES. 85 

field. At last, when the continental troops were nearly all 
killed, the regulars turned and fled disgracefully, abandoning 
everything to the foe. Washington covered their flight and 
saved the wreck of the army from pursuit. 

Second Expedition (1758). — General Forbes led the second 
expedition, Washington commanding the Virginia troops. 
The general lost so much time in building roads that, in 
November, he was fifty miles from the fort. A council of war 
decided to give up the attempt. But Washington receiving 
news of the weakness of the French garrison, urged a forward 
movement. He himself led the advance guard, and by his 
vigilance dispelled all danger of Indian surprise. The French 
fired tho fort, and fled at his approach. As the flag of Eng- 
land floated out over the ruined ramparts, this gateway of 
the west was named Pittsburg.* 

2. Acadia and Louisburg.— 1. Acadia. — Scarcely had 
the war commenced, when an attack was made on Acadia. 
The French forts at the head of the Bay of Fundy were 
quickly taken, and the entire region east of the Penobscot 
fell into the hands of the English, f 

2. Louishurq (1757). — General Loudoun collected an army 
at Halifax for an attack on Louisburg. After spending all 
summer in drilling his troops, "he gave up the attempt on 
learning that the French fleet contained one •more ship than 
his own !" The next year Generals Amherst and Wolfe cap- 

* This -was in honor of William Pitt, prime minister of England, whose true friend- 
ship for the colonies was warmly appreciated in America. He came into power in 
1758, and from that time the war took on a different aspect. 

t This victory was disgraced by an act of heartless cruelty. The Acadians were a 
simple-minded, rural people. They readDy gave up their arms and meekly submitted 
to their conquerors. But the English authorities, knowing their sympathy with the 
French and coveting their rich farms, drove old and young on board the ships at the 
point of the bayonet, and distributed them among the colonies. Families were 
broken up, their homes burned, and, poor exiles, the broken-hearted Acadians met 
everywhere only insultand abuse. Longfellow, in his beautiful poem " Evangeline," 
has revived in the present generation a warm sympathy for these people, whose mis- 
fortunes he has so pathetically recorded. 



86 EPOCH II. [1758. 

tured the city after a severe bombardment, and took posses- 
sion of the entire island.* 

3. Crown Point and Ticonderoga. — 1. Battle of Lake 
George. — About the time of Braddock's expedition, another 
was undertaken against Crown Point. The French under 
Dieskauf (de-es-ko) were met near the head of Lake George. J 
Fortunately, General Johnson, being slightly wounded, early 
in the action retired to his tent, whereupon General Lyman, 
with his provincial troops, regained the battle then nearly 
lost. This victory following closely on the heels of Brad- 
dock's disaster, excited great joy. Johnson was voted 
knighthood and $25,000 ; Lyman, the real victor, received 
nothing. This battle ended the attempt to take Crown 
Point. Johnson loitered away the summer in building a fort 
near by, which he called William Henry. § In the fall he 
returned to Albany and disbanded his troops. 

2. Attach on Ticonderoga. — On a calm Sunday morning, 
about four months before the fall of Fort du Quesne, a 
thousand boats full of soldiers, with waving flags and strains 
of martial music, swept down Lake George to attack Ticon- 

* Abandoning Louisburg, the English made Halifax, as it is to-day, their rendez- 
vous in that region. 

t The brave Dieslcaii was severely wounded. In the pursuit, a soldier found him 
leaning against a stump. As he fumbled for his watch to propitiate his enemy, the 
BOldier thinking him to be searching for his pistol, shot him. 

X Johnson, the English commander, received word of the approach of the enemy, 
and sent out Colonel Williams with twelve hundred men to stop them. In the skir- 
mish Williams was killed. He was the real founder of Williams College, having by 
his will, made while on his way to battle, bequeathed a sum to found a free school 
for Western Massachusetts. 

§ Two years after, Montcalm, the new French general, swept down from Canada 
and captured this fort with its garrison, although Webb was at Fort Edward, four- 
teen miles below, with six thousand men lying idly in camp. The victory is noted 
for an illustration of savage treachery. The English had been guaranteed a safe 
escort to Fort Edward. But they had scarcely left the fort when the Indians fell upon 
them to plunder and to slaughter. In vain did the French officers peril their lives to 
save their captives from the lawless tomahawk. " Kill me," cried Montcalm, in des- 
peration, " but spare the English, who are under my protection." The Indian fury, 
however, was implacable, and the march of the prisoners to Fort Edward became a 
aight for life. 



1758.] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 87 

deroga. General Abercrombie ordered an assault before his 
artillery came up, and while the battle raged lay hid away in 
the rear. A disastrous repulse was the result.* 

3. Capture of loth Forts. — The next year (1759), at the 
approach of General Amherst with a large army, both Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point were evacuated. 

4. Niagara. — 1. About the time of Braddock's expedi- 
tion. General Shirley marched to capture Niagara. But 
reaching Oswego and learning of that disastrous defeat, he 
was discouraged. He simply built a fort and came home, f 

2. Nothing further was done toward the capture of this 
important post for four years, when it was invested by 
General Prideaux X (pre-do). In spite of desperate attempts 
made to relieve the garrison, it was at last compelled to sur- 
render (1759). New York was thus extended to Niagara 
Eiver, and the West was secured to the English. 

5. Quebec (1759). — The same summer in which Niagara, 
Crown Point, and Ticonderoga § were occupied by the Eng- 
lish, General "Wolfe anchored with a large fleet and eight 
thousand land troops in front of Quebec. Opposed to him 
was the vigilant French general, Montcalm, with a command 
equal to his own. The English cannon easily destroyed the 
lower city next the river, but the citadel being on higher 
ground, was far out of their reach. The bank of the river, 

* While the main army was delaying after this failure, Colonel Bradstreet obtained 
permission to go against Fort Frontenac, on the present site of Kingston. Crossing 
the lake, he captared the fort and a large quantity of stores intended for Fort Du 
Quesne. The loss disheartened the garrison of the latter place, frightened off their 
Indian allies, and did much to cause its evacuation on the approach of the 
English. 

t The next year that indefatigable general, Montcalm, crossed the lake from 
Canada and captured this fort with its garrison and a large amount of public stores. 

X Prideaux was accidentally kiUed during the siege, but his successor, Johnson, 
satisfactorily carried out his plans. 

§ It was expected that the two armies engaged in the capture of these forts would 
join Wolfe in the attack on Quebec ; but for various reasons they made no attempt 
to do so, and Wolfe was left to perform his task alone. 



88 



EPOCH II. 



[1759 




QUEBEC IN EARLY TIMES. 



for miles a high craggy wall, bristled with cannon at every 
landing-place. For months Wolfe lingered before the city, 
vainly seeking some feasible point of attack. Carefully re- 
connoitering the precipitous bluff above the city, his sharp eyes 
at length discovered a narrow path winding among the rocks 
to the top, and he determined to lead his army up this 
ascent. * To distract the enemy's attention, he took his men 
several miles up the river. Thence dropping down silently 
by night with the ebb-tide, they landed, clambered up 



* General Wolfe was a great admirer of the poet Gray. As he went the rounds for 
final inspection on the beautiful starlight evening before the attack, he remarked to 
those in the boat with him, " I would rather be the author of ' The Elegy in a Country 
Churchyard,' than to have the glory of beating the French to-morrow ;" and amid 
the rippling of the water and the dashing of the oars he repeated : 

" The hoast of heraldry, the pomp of power. 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, 
Await alike the inevitable hour ; 
The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 



1759-] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 89 

the steep clifE,* quickly dispersed the guard, and at day-break 
stood arrayed in order of battle on the Plains of Abraham. 
Montcalm, astonished at the audacity of the attempt, could 
scarcely. believe it possible. When convinced of its truth he 
at once made an impetuous attack. Wolfe's veterans held 
their fire until the French were close at hand, then poured 
upon them rapid, steady volleys. The enemy soon wavered. 
Wolfe, placing himself at the head, now ordered a bayonet 
charge. Already twice wounded, he still pushed forward. 
A third ball struck him. He was carried to the rear. 
" They run ! They run ! " exclaimed the officer on whom he 
leaned. "Who run ?" he faintly gasped. " The French," 
Avas the reply. ''Now God be praised, I die happy," mur- 
mured the expiring hero. Montcalm, too, was fatally 
wounded as he was vainly trying to rally the fugitives. On 
being told by the surgeon that he could not live more than 
twelve hours, he answered, " So much the better. I shall 
not see the surrender of Quebec." 

Five days afterward (September 18, 1759,) the city and 
garrison capitulated. 

Close of the War.f Peace. — The next year an at- 
tempt was made to re-capture Quebec. But a powerful fleet 
arrived from England in time to raise the siege. A large 
army marched upon Montreal, and Canada soon submitted. 
The English flag now waved over the continent, from the 
Arctic Ocean to the Mississippi. Peace was made at Paris in 
1763. Spain ceded Florida to England. France gave up to 



* Although Wolfe rose from a sick-bed to lead his troops, he was the first man to 
land. The shore was lined with French sentinels. A captain who understood 
French and had been assigned this duty, answered the challenge of the sentinel near 
the landing, and thus warded off the first danger of alarm. 

t The five points which were especially sought by the English were now all cap- 
tured. Canada itself, worn out, impoverished, and almost in famine, because of the 
long war, was ready for peace, 



90 EPOCH II. [1763- 

England all her territory east of the Mississippi, except two 
small islands south of Newfoundland, retained as fishing 
stations ; while, to Spain she ceded New Orleans, and all 
her territory west of the Mississippi. 

Fontiac's War. — The French traders and missionaries 
had won the hearts of the Indians. When the more 
haughty English came to take possession of the western forts, 
great discontent was roused. Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawas, 
Philip-like, formed a confederation of the tribes against the 
common foe. It was secretly agreed to fall at once upon all 
the British posts. Eight forts were thus surprised and cap- 
tured. * Thousands of persons fled from their homes to avoid 
the scalping-knife. At last the Indians, disagreeing among 
themselves, deserted the alliance, and a treaty was signed. 
Pontiac, still revengeful, fled to the hunting-grounds of the 
Illinois. There he was murdered by a Poorian Indian, while 
endeavoring to incite another attack. 

Effects of the French and Indian War. — In this 
war the colonists spent $16,000,000, and England repaid only 
$5,000,000. The Americans lost thirty thousand men, and 
suffered the untold horrors of Indian barbarity. The taxes 
sometimes equaled two-thirds the income of the tax-payer ; 
yet they were levied by their own representatives, and they 

* Various stratagems were employed to accomplish their designs. At Maumee, z 
squaw lured forth the commander by imploring aid for an Indian woman dying outside 
the fort. Once without, he was at the mercy of the ambushed savages. At Macki- 
naw, hundreds of Indians had gathered. Commencing a game at ball, one party 
drove the other, as if by accident, toward the fort. The soldiers were attracted to 
watch the game. At length the ball was thrown over the pickets, and the Indiana 
jumping after it, began the terrible butchery. The commander, Major Henry, writ- 
ing in his room, heard the war-cry and the shrieks of the victims, and rushing to his 
window beheld the savage work of the tomahawk and the scalping-knife. Amid un- 
told perils he himself escaped. At Detroit, the plot was betrayed by a squaw, and 
when the chiefs were admitted to their jjroposed council for " brightening the chain 
of friendship," they found themselves surrounded by an armed garrison. Pontiac 
was allowed to escape. Two days after he commenced a siege which lasted several 
months. In payment of the supplies for his army, he issued birch-bark notes signed 
with the figure of an otter. These primitive " government bonds " were promptly 
paid when due. 



1763-] DEVELOPMEKT OP EKGLISH COLONIES. 91 

did not murmur. The men of different colonies and diverse 
ideas fought shoulder to shoulder, and many sectional jeal- 
ousies were allayed. They learned to think and act independ- 
ently of the mother country, and thus came to know their 
strength. Democratic ideas had taken root, legislative bodies 
had been called, troops raised and supplies voted, not by Eng- 
land, but by themselves. They had become fond of liberty. 
They knew their rights and dared maintain them. When 
they voted money they kept the purse in their own hands. 

The treatment of the British officers helped also to unite 
the colonists. They made sport of the awkward provincial 
soldiers. The best American officers were often thrust aside 
to make place for young British subalterns. But, in spite of 
sneers, Washington, Gates, Montgomery, Stark, Arnold, 
Morgan, Putnam, all received their training, and learned 
how, when the time came, to fight even British regulars. 



CONDITION OF THE COLONIES.' 



There were now thirteen colonies. They numbered about 2,000,000 
people. The largest cities were Boston and Philadelphia, each contain- 
ing about eighteen thousand inhabi- 
tants. Three forms of government 
existed — charter, proprietary, and 
royal. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
and Connecticut, had charter govern- 
ments. Maryland and Pennsylvania 
(with Delaware) were proprietary — 
that is, their proprietors governed them. 
Georgia, Virginia, New Hampshire, 
New York, New Jersey, and the Caro- 
linas were directly subject to the 
crown, the last three being at first pro- 
prietary, but afterward becoming royal. 




THE STOCKS. 



The colonies were all Protes- 



♦ Read Barnes's Popular History of the United States, Chap. 4, Colonial Life, 



92 



EPOCH II. 



ti763. 



tant. The intolerant reli^oiis spirit of early days had moderated, and 
there had been a gradual assimilation of manners and customs. They 

had, in a word, become 
Americans. In accord- 
ance with the customs 
of the age, the laws were 
still severe. Thus in 
New England, at one 
time, twelve offences 
were punishable by 
death, while in Virginia 
there were seventeen 
capital crimes. The 
aiFairs of private life 
were regulated by law 
in a manner that would 
not now be endured. At 
Hartford, for example, 
the ringing of the watch- 
man's bell in the morn- 
ing was the signal for 
every one to rise, and in 
Massachusetts a scold 
was sometimes gagged 
and placed near her door, while for other minor offences the stocks and 
pillory were used. The social prejudices brought over from England 
still survived in a measure. Even in New England official positions 
were monopolized by a few leading families, and 
of ten descended from father to son. The cata- 
logues of Harvard and Yale were long arranged 
according to the rank of the students. 

Nine colleges had already been established. 
These were Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, 
Princeton, Columbia (originally called King's), 
Brown, Rutger's (then Queen's), Dartmouth, and 
Hampden Sidney. Educational interests were 
not fostered by the English government. Only 
one donation was given to found a college in the 
colonies — that of William and Mary, an institu- 
tion named in honor of these sovereigns. 

Agriculture was the main dependence of tho 
people, though manufactures, even at this early 
period, received much attention at the north. 
Hats, paper, shoes, household furniture, farming the pillory. 




A SCOLD GAGGED. 




1763-] DEVELOPMENT OF EISTGLISH COLONIES. 93 



utensils, and the coarser kinds of cutlery were made to some extent. 
Cloth weaving had been introduced. Most thrifty people, however, 
dressed in homespun. It is said of Mrs. Washington that she kept 
running sixteen spinning-wheels. Commerce had steadily increased — 
principally, however, as coast trade, in consequence of the oppressive 
laws of Great Britain. The daring fishermen of New England already 
pushed their whaling crafts far into the icy regions of the north. Money 
was for many years very scarce. In 1G35 musket-bullets were made to 
pass in place of farthings, tha law providing that not more than twelve 
should be given in one payment. 




THE WOOLEN SPINNING-WHEEL. 

The first printing-press was set up at Cambridge, in 1639. Most of 
the books of that day were collections of sermons. The first permanent 
newspaper. The Boston News Letter, was published in 1704. In 1750 
there were only seven newspapers. The Federal Orrery, the first daily 
paper, was not issued till 1792. There was a public library in New 
York, from which books were loaned at four and a half pence per week. 

The usual mode of travel was on foot or horseback. People journeyed 
largely by means of coasting sloops. The trip from New York to Phil- 
adelphia occupied three days if the wind was fair. There was a wagon 
running bi-weekly from New York across New Jersey. Conveyances 
were put on in 1766, which made the unprecedented time of two days 
from New York to Philadelphia. They were, therefore, termed 
" flying machines." 



94 



EPOCH II. 



[1763. 



The first stage route was between Providence and Boston, taking two 
days for the trip. A post-olfice system bad been effected by the com- 
bination of the colonies, which united the whole country. Benjamin 
Franklin was one of the early postmasters-general. He made a grand 
tour of the country in bis chaise, perfecting and maturing the plan. His 
daughter Sally accompanied him, riding sometimes by his side in the 
chaise, and sometimes on the extra horse wliich be bad with him. It 
took five months to make the rounds which could now be performed in 
as many days. A mail was started in 1673, between New York and 
Boston, by way of Hartford ; according to the contract the round trip 
being made monthly. 




OLD-FASHIONED " STAGE WAGON." 

Manners and Customs. — 1. The Neio England people were strict in 
morals. Governor Winthrop prohibited cards and gaming tables. A 
man was whipped for shooting fowl on Sunday. No man was allowed 
to keep tavern who did not bear an excellent character and possess 
property. The names of drunkards were posted up in the ale-houses, and 
the keepers forbidden to sell them liquor. By order of the colony of 
Connecticut, no person under twenty years of age could use any tobacco 
without a physician's order ; and no one was allowed to use it oftener 
than once a day, and then not within ten miles of any house. 

Articles of dress were also limited or regulated by law. No person 
whose estate did not exceed £200, coiild wear " gold or silver lace, or 
any lace above 2s. per yard." The " selectmen " were required to take 
note of the " apparel " of the people, especially their " ribbands and great 
boots." Only the gentility, including ministers and their wives, received 
the prefix Mr. and Mrs. to their names. Others, above servitude, were 
called Goodman and Goodwife. 

Conduct was shaped by a literal interpretation of tbe Scriptures. Sim- 
plicity of manners and living was carefully inculcated. At first the 
ministers had almost entire control. A church reproof was the heaviest 
punishment, and knotty points in theology caused the bitterest discus- 
sion. A pillion was the grandest equipage, and a plain blue and white 
gown, with primly starched apron, was tbe common attire of the New 
England dames. 



1763-] DEVELOPMEN'T OF ENGLISH COLOKIES. 95 

2. The Middle Colonies. — The manners of the New York people were 
essentially Dutch. Many customs then inaugurated still remain in 
vogue. Among these is that of New Year's Day visiting, of which 
General Washington said, " New York will in process of years gradu- 
ally change its ancient customs and manners, but whatever changes 




DUTCH MANSION AND COTTAGE IN NEW AMSTERDAM. 



take place, never forget the cordial observance of New Years Day." 
So, also, to the Dutch v^e owe our Christmas visit of Santa Claus, 
colored eggs at Easter, doughnuts, crullers, and New Year's cookies. 
Laws of morality were rigidly enforced, as in New England. Furniture 
and equipages were extremely simple. Carpets were hardly known 
before 1750, and each housekeeper prided herself on the purity of her 
white-sanded floor. 

3. The Southern Colonists differed widely from the northern in habits 
and style of living. In place of thickly -settled towns and villages, they 
had large plantations, and were surrounded by a numerous household 



96 



EPOCH II. 



[1763- 



of servants. An estate in those days was a little empire. The planter 
had among his slaves men of every trade. The mansion-house waa 
large, and fitted to the free-hearted, open-handed hospitality of its 
owner. The negro quarters formed a hamlet apart, with its gardens 
and poultry yards. There were large sheds for curing tobacco, and 
mills for grinding corn and wheat. Everything necessary for ordinary 
use was produced on the plantation. Their tobacco was put up by their 
own negroes, and consigned direct to England. The flour of the Mount 




FIELD-SPORTS OF THE SOUTH — FOX-HUNTING. 

Vernon estate was packed under the eye of Washington himself, and 
we are told that barrels of flour bearing his brand, passed in the West 
India market without inspection. A style of luxury and refinement 
already prevailed. Services of plate, elegant equipages, and liveried 
servants were not uncommon. Rich planters vied with one another in 
the possession of the finest horses. 

Education. — 1. The Eastern Colonies. — Next to their religion the 
Puritans prized education. When Boston was but six years old, $2,000 
were appropriated to the seminary at Cambridge, now known as Harvard 
University. Some years after, each family gave a peck of corn or a 
shilling in cash for its support. Common schools had already been 
provided, and in 1647 every town was ordered to have a free school, 
and, if it contained over one hundred families, a grammar school. In 
Connecticut any town that did not keep a school for three months in 
the year was liable to a fine. In 1700, ten ministers, having previously 



1763-] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 97 



so agreed, brought together a number of books, each saying as he laid 
down his gift, " I give these books for founding a college in Connecti- 
cut." This was the beginning of Yale College. It was first established 
at Saybrook, but in 1716 was removed to New Haven. It was named 
from Governor Yale, who befriended it most generously. 

The " town meetings," as they were styled, were of inestimable value 
in cultivating democratic ideas. The young and old, rich and poor, 
here met on a perfect equality for the discussion of all local questions. 
In Hartford, 
every freeman 
■who neglected 
to attend the 
town meeting 
was fined six- 
pence, unless 
he had a good 
excuse. 

2. The Mid- 
dle Colonies 
already had 
many schools '''. -^'i^ "^-•■''■ 
scattered through the towns. In 
New York, during the Dutch pe- 
riod, it was customary for the 
schoolmaster, in order to increase 
bis earnings, to ring the church- 
bell, dig graves, and act as choris- 
ter and town -clerk. In the Eng- 
lish period, some of the schools were kept by Dutch masters, who taught 
English as an accomplishment. As early as 1702, an act was passed for 
the " Encouragement of a Grammar Free School in the City of New 
York." In 1795, George Clinton laid the foundation of the common- 
school system of the State, and within three years nearly 60,000 chil- 
dren were receiving instruction. At Lewiston, Del., is said to have 
been established the first girls' school in the colonies. The first school 
in Pennsylvania was started about 1683, where " reading, writing, and 
casting accounts " were taught, for eight English shillings per annum. 
The Orrery invented by Dr. Rittenhouse, in 1768, is still preserved in 
Princeton College. No European institution had its equal. 

Churches were established by the various denominations. The Swedes 
had a meeting-house erected even before the landing of Penn. Ministers' 
salaries were met in different ways. In New York the Dutch dominie 
was paid sometimes in wampum. The dominie of Albany on one occa- 
sion received one hundred and fifty beaver skins. 




A WEDDING JOURNEY. 



98 * EPOCHii. [1763- 

3. The Southern Colonies met with great diflBculties in their eflTorts to 
establish schools. Though Virginia boasts of the second oldest college, 
yet her English governors bitterly opposed the progress of education. 
Governor Berkeley, of whose haughty spirit we have already heard, 
said, " I thank God there are no free schools nor printing-presses here, 
and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years." The restric- 
tions upon the press were so great that no newspaper was published in 
Virginia until 1736, and that was controlled by the government. Free 
schools were established in Maryland in 1696, and a free school in 
Charleston, S. C, in 1712. Private schools were early established by 
the colonists in every neighborhood. 

A farm of one hundred acres was set apart by law for each clergyman, 
and also a portion of the " best and first gathered corn " and tobacco. 
Absence from church was fined. In Georgia, masters were compelled 
to send their slaves to church, under a penalty of £5. 



Summary of the History of the Second Epoch, 
arranged, in Chronological Order. 

PAGE 

1607. Jamestown founded by the London Company. First per- 
manent English settlement in America, May 23, . 38, 46 

48 
48 
49 
49 
65 
53 
50 
49 
50 



1609. Virginia received its second charter, June 2, 

1610. ' ' Starving Time " in Virginia, . 

1612. Virginia received its third charter, March 22, 

1613. Pocahontas married Rolfe, April, 
Settlement of New York by the Dutch, 

1614. Smith explored the New England Coast, . 

1615. Culture of tobacco commenced in Virginia, 

1619. First Colonial Assembly, July 30, 
Slavery introduced in the English colony at Jamestown, 

1620. Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. First permanent English 

settlement in New England, December 21, . 

1622. Indian massacre in Virginia, March 22, . 

New Hampshire granted to Gorges and Mason, Aug. 10, 

1623. New Hampshire settled at Dover and Portsmouth, . 

1628. Charter granted to Massachusetts Bay Colony, March 4, 

1629. New patent for New Hampshire granted to Mason, 

November 7, 

1630. First house built in Boston, under Governor Winthrop 

July, 

1632." Maryland granted to Lord Baltimore, June 20, . 



53 
51 
60 
61 
56 

61 

56 
72 



1763-] DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH COLONIES. 99 



PAGE 



1634. Maryland settled at St. Mary's, 73 

1633-6. Connecticut settled at Windsor, Hartford, and Wethers- 
field, 61 

1635. Clayborne's rebellion in Virginia and Maryland, . . 73 

1636. Rhode Island settled at Providence, June, ... 64 

1637. Pequod War, 62 

1638. New Haven colony founded, April 18, .... 63 
Delaware settled near Wilmington by the Swedes, April, . 69 

1641. New Hampshire united to Massachusetts, .... 61 

1643. Union of the New England colonies. May 29, . . . 57 

1644. Second Indian massacre in Virginia, April 18, ... 51 
Charter granted to Rhode Island. — Providence and Rhode 

Island plantations united, March 14 65 

1655. Civil war in Maryland, 73 

New Sweden conquered by the Dutch, October, , . 66 

1660. Navigation Act, passed in 1651, now enforced, . . 51 

1662. Charter granted to Connecticut, April 20, . . . .63 

1663. Albemarle Colony formed, March 24, .... 74 

1664. New Netherland conquered by the English and called New 

York, September 66 

New Jersey settled at Elizabethtown, .... 68 

1670. South Carolina settled on the Ashley River, ... 74 

1675. King Philip's War, 57 

1676. Bacon's rebellion, April, 52 

1679. New Hampshire made a royal province, .... 61 

1680. Charleston, S. C, founded, 74 

1683. Pennsylvania settled, 69 

Delaware granted to William Penn by the Duke of York, 

August 31, 70 

1683. Philadelphia founded by William Penn, February, . . 69 
1686. Andres arrived in Boston as governor of New England, 

December 20, 59 

1689. King William's war, 77 

Andros seized and sent to England, 59 

1690. Schenectady burned by the Indians and the French, . 78 
1692. Salem witchcraft, 60 

Massachusetts received a new charter, under Phipps, Gov. 59 

1697. Peace of Ryswick terminated King William's war, . . 78 

1702. Queen Anne's war commenced, 79 

Delaware secured a separate legislative assembly, . . 71 
1710. Port Royal, N. S., captured by the English and named 

Annapolis 79 

1713. Queen Anne's war closed by the treaty of Utrecht, . . 80 
1732. Washington bom, February 23, . . , . .76 



100 EPOCH II. [1763. 



1733. Georgia settled by Oglethorpe at Savannah, February 12, 
1739. The Spanish War began, 

1744. King George's war began, 

1745. Louisburg captured by the English, June 17, . 
1748. King George's war ended by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle 

1753. Washington sent with a letter by Dinwiddle to St. Pierre 

October 31, 

1754. Battle at Gt. Meadows — Ft. Necessity captured by French 

1755. The French driven from Acadia, June -Nov. 
Braddock defeated in the Battle of Monongahela, July 9 
The British defeated Dieskau at Lake George, September 8 

1756. War first formally declared between the English and the 

French, May 17, 

French under Montcalm captured Fort Oswego, Aug, 14 

1757. Fort William Henry surrendered to Montcalm, Aug. 9, 

1758. Abercrombie repulsed at Fort Ticonderoga, July 8, . 
Louisburg taken by Amherst and Wolfe, July 26, . 
Fort Frontenac captured by the colonists, August 27, 
Fort du Quesne taken by the English, November 25, 

1759. Ticonderoga and Crown Point abandoned by the French 
Niagara surrendered to England, July 25, 

Battle of Plains of Abraham — Quebec surrendered, . 

1760. Montreal surrendered to the English, September 8, 
Pontiac's war, 

1763. Peace of Paris 



PAGE 

76 
80 
80 
80 
81 

81 
83 
85 

84 



83 
87 
86 
87 
86 
87 
85 
87 
87 
89 
89 
90 
89 



REFERENCES FOR READING. 

Palfrey's History o/ Nezv England. — Parkman''s Conspiracy of Pontiac. — NeaVs 
History of the Puritans. — Hoiines^s Robinson of Leyden {Poefn). — Mrs. Hemans''s 
Landing of the Pilgr ins (Poeni). — Martyn''s Pilgritn Fathers of New England. — 
Elliotfs History of New England. — Hopkim's Youth of the Old Dominion.— Sin!7ns''s 
Smith and Pocahontas. — Mrs. Sigotirney^s Pocahontas (Poem). — Longfellow'' s Court- 
ship of Miles Standish, and Evangeline (Poems). — Holland's Bay Path. — Barber^ 
New England. — Irving' s Knickerbocker'' s History of New York, and King Philip''s 
War (Sketch Book). — Cooper'' s Last of the Mohicans.— James'' s TicoJideroga. — Hub- 
bard's History of Indian Wars in New England. — Hall's Puritans and their Prin- 
ciples. — Randall's School History of New York. — Barber'' s American Scenes. — 
Tracy'' s A jnerican Historical Reader. — Paulding's Ode to Jamestown (Poem)., and 
his Diitchman' s Fire-Side (a novel). — Streefs Frontenac (a romance). — Mrs. Childs's 
Hobomok (a novel). — Margaret SmitJt's Journal (by Whittier). — Harper's Magazine., 
Vol. 52,/. I, art.. Up the Ashley and Cooper (Life in Colony of S. C). — Sanborn's 
History of New Hampshire. — Holland's History o^ Western Massachusetts. — Greene's 
History of Rhode Island. 




Jacob WtllB, DtU 



Copyright, 1S79, by A. S. 




Dgham. 
outh 



— ,^^- Ged^town 

''TnS^\'inya.Bay ^ THREE SECTION MAPS 

Ponie^n/ TO ILLUSTRATE 

Lc^rieston <V THE ROUTES OF 

"— THE BRITISH ARIVIY 

IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 

SCALE OF MILES 
50 
The doited hnes indicate routes takf-n by the British 



s d Co., Neiv York. 



JBUt—M t atrutlun,£iit'' X. T. 



Epoch III. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 




From 177s — the Breaking out of the War, 
To 1787 — the Adoption of the Constitution. 



Causes of the American Revolution. 

EMOTE Causes. — England treated 
the settlers as an inferior class of peo- 
ple. Her intention was to make and 
:■ keep the colonies dependent. The 
laws were framed to favor the English 
manufacturer and merchant at the 
'%_ expense of the colonist. The Naviga- 
tion Acts compelled the American 
farmer to send his products across 
the ocean to England, and to buy his goods in British 
markets. American manufactures were prohibited. Iron 



Qitesii'ons on the Geography of the Third Epoch. — Locate Boston. 
Portsmouth. Newport. Philadelphia. Salem. Concord. Lexington. Whitehall. 
Cambridge. New London. Charleston. Charlestown. Brooklyn. New York. White 
Plains. North Castle. Cherry Valley. Elizabethtown. Trenton. Princeton. Ger- 
mantown. Albany. Oriskany. Bennington. Yorktown. Monmouth C. H. Quebec. 
Danbury. Savannah. Augusta. Norfolk. Norwalk. Fairfield. New Haven. Elmira. 
Camden. Hanging Rock. Cowpens. Guilford C. H. Wilmington. Eutaw Springs. 

Locate Crown Point. Fort Ticonderoga. Fort Edward. Fort Griswold. Fort 
Moultrie. Fort Washington. West Point. Fort Schuyler (Fort Stanwix was 
named after Gen. Schuyler in 1776, and so in history is called by either name). 
Stony Point. Fort Lee. Fort Mifflin. Fort Mercer. 

Describe the Brandywine Creek. Mohawk Eiver. Waxhaw Creek. Catawba 
Elver. Yadkin Eiver. Dan River. Delaware River. 

Locate Valley Forge. Ninety Six. Dorchester Heights. Morristown. King's 
Mooutain. Bemis's Heights, Wyoming. 



102 EPOCH III. ti66o. 

works were denounced as ''common nuisances." William 
Pitt, the friend of America, declared that "she had no right 
to manufacture even a nail for a horseshoe." * 

The Direct Cause was an attempt to tax the colonies 
in order to raise money to defray the expenses of the recent 
war. As the colonists were not represented in Parliament 
they resisted this measure, declaring that TAXATiOif with- 
out BEPRESENTATiO]sr IS TYRAKKY. The British govern- 
ment, however, was obstinate, and began first to enforce the 
odious laws against trade. Smuggling had become very 
common, and the English officers were granted 

Writs of Assistance, as they were called, or warrants 
authorizing them to search for smuggled goods. Under this 
pretext any petty custom-house official could enter a man's 
house or store at his pleasure. The colonists believed that 
"every man's house is his castle," and resisted such power as 
a violation of their rights, f 

The Stamp Act (1765), which ordered that stamps 
bought of the British government, should be put on all legal 
documents, newspapers, pamphlets, &c., thoroughly aroused 
the colonists. J The houses of British officials were mobbed. 
Prominent loyalists were hung in effigy. Stamps were seized. 

* The exportation of hats from one colony to another was prohibited, and no 
hatter was allowed to have more than two apprentices at a time. The importation 
of sugar, rum, and molasses, was burdened with exorbitant duties ; and the Caro- 
linians were forbidden to cut down the pine-trees of their vast forests, in order to 
convert the wood into staves, or the juice into turpentine and tar for commercial 
purposes. Read Barnes's Popular History of the United States, p. 134. 

t The matter was brought before a general court, held in Boston, where James 
Otis, advocate-general, coming out boldly on the side of the people, exclaimed, " To 
my dying day I will oppose, with all the powers and faculties God has given me, all 
ench instruments of slavery on the one hand and villainy on the other." " Then and 
there," said John Adams, who was present, " the trumpet of the Revolution was 
sounded." 

t The assembly of Virginia was the first to make public opposition to this odious • 
law. Patrick Henry, a brilliant young lawyer, introduced a resolution denying the 
right of Parliament to tax America. He boldly asserted t hat the king had played the 
tyrant ; and, alluding to the fate of other tyrants, exclaimed, " Caesar had his BrutOB, 



1765] THE REVOLUTIONAET WAB. 103 

The agents were forced to resign. People agreed not to use 
any article of British manufacture. * Associations, called the 
''Sons of Liberty,"! were formed to resist the law. Dele- 
gates from nine of the colonies met at New York and framed 
a Declaration of Eights, and a petition to the king and Parlia- 
ment. The 1st of November, appointed for the law to go 
into effect, was observed as a day of mourning. Bells were 
tolled, flags raised at half-mast, and business was suspended, J 
Samuel and John Adams, Patrick Henry, and James Otis, 
by their stirring and patriotic speeches, aroused the people 
over the whole land. 

Alarmed by these demonstrations, the English govern- 
ment repealed the Stamp Act (1766), but still declared 
its right to tax the colonies. Soon, new duties were laid 
upon tea, glass, paper, &c., and a Board of Trade was 
established at Boston, to act independently of the colonial 
assemblies. 

Mutiny Act. — Anticipating bitter opposition, troops were 

Charles I. his Cromwell, and George III." — here pausing till the cry of " Treason I 
Treason 1 " from several parts of the house had ended, he deliberately added—" may 
profit by their examples. If this be treason, make the most of it." — John Ashe, 
speaker of the North Carolina Assembly, declared to Governor Tryon, "This law 
will be resisted to blood and to death." 

* The newspapers of the day mention many wealthy people who conformed to this 
agreement. On one occasion forty or fifty young ladies, who called themselves 
" Daughters of Liberty," brought their spinning-wheels to the house of Rev. Mr. 
Morehead, in Boston, and during the day spun two hundred and thirty-two skeins 
of yarn, which they presented to their pastor. "Within eighteen months," wrote a 
gentleman at Newport, R.I., " four hundred and eighty-seven yards of cloth and thirty- 
six pairs of stockings have been spun and knit in the family of James Nixon of this 
town." In Newport and Boston the ladies, at their tea-drinkings, used, instead of 
imported tea, the dried leaves of the raspberry. They called this substitute Hy- 
perion. The class of 17T0, at Cambridge, took their diplomas in homespun suits. 

+ This name was assumed from the celebrated speech of Barre on the Stamp Act, 
in which he spoke of the colonists as " sons of liberty." 

t At Portsmouth, N. H., a coffin inscribed " Ldbeett, aged CXLV years," waa 
borne to an open grave. With muffled drum§ and solemn tread, the procession moved 
from the State House. Minute guns were fired till the grave was reached, when a 
funeral oration was pronounced and the coffin lowered. Suddenly it was proclaimed 
that there were signs of life. The coffin was raised, and the inscription "Liberty 
Eevived " added. Bells rang, trumpets sounded, men shouted, and a jubilee ensued. 



104 EPOCH III. [1768. 

sent to enforce the laws. The " Mutiny Act," as it was called, 
ordered that the colonies should provide these soldiers with 
quarters and necessary supplies. This evident attempt to 
enslave the Americans aroused burning indignation. To be 
taxed was bad enough, but to shelter and feed their oppressors 
was unendurable. The New York assembly, having refused 
to comply, was forbidden to pass any legislative acts. The 
Massachusetts assembly sent a circular to the other colonies 
urging a union for redress of grievances. Parliament, in the 
name of the king, ordered the assembly to rescind its action ; 
but it almost unanimously refused. In the meantime the 
assemblies of nearly all the colonies had declared that Parlia- 
ment had no right to tax them without their consent. There- 
upon they were warned not to imitate the disobedient conduct 
of Massachusetts. 

Boston Massacre. — Boston being considered the hot-bed 
of the rebellion, General Gage was sent thither with two 
regiments of troops. They entered on a quiet Sabbath morn- 
ing, and marched as through a conquered city, with di'ums 
beating and flags flying. Quarters being refused, they took 
possession of the State House. The Common was soon 
crowded with tents. Cannon were planted, sentries posted, 
and citizens challenged. Frequent quarrels took place between 
the people and the soldiers. One day (March 5, 1770) a 
crowd of men and boys, maddened by its presence, insulted 
the city guard. A fight ensued, in Which two citizens were 
wounded and three killed. The bells were rung ; the coun- 
try people rushed in to the help of the city ; and it was with 
great difficulty that quiet was at last restored. * 

Boston Tea Party (Dec. 16, 1773). — The government, 



* The soldiers were tried for murder. John Adams and Josiah Quincy, who stood 
foremost in opposition to British aggression, defended them. All were acquittea 
except two, who were found guilty of manslaughter. 



1773.] 



THE RCVOLUTIONART WAR. 



105 




FANEUIL HALL. 



alarmed by the turn events had taken, rescinded the taxes, 
except that on tea — which was left to maintain the principle. 
An arrangement was made whereby tea was furnished at so 
low a price that with the tax included it was cheaper in 
America than in England. 
Tliis subterfuge exasperated 
the patriots. They were light- 
ing for a great principle, not a 
paltry tax. At Charleston the 
tea was stored in damp cellars 
where it soon spoiled. The 
tea-ships at New York and 
Philadelphia were sent home. 
The British authorities refused 
to let the tea-ships at Boston 
return. Upon this an immense 

public meeting was held at Faneuil Hall,* and it was decided 
that the tea should never be brought ashore. A party of men, 
disguised as Indians, boarded the vessels and emptied three 
hundred and forty-two chests of tea into the water, f 

The Climax Reached. — Ketaliatory measures were at 
once adopted by the English government.]; General Gage 
was appointed governor of Massachusetts. The port of 
Boston being closed § by act of Parliament, business was 

* Faneuil Hall was the rendezvous of the Revolutionary spirits of that time — Whence 
it has been called the " Cradle of Liberty." 

t On their way home from the " Boston Tea Party," the men passed a house at 
•which Admiral Montague was spending the evening. The officer raised the window 
and cried out, " Well, boys, you've had a fine night for your Indian caper. But, mind, 
you've got to pay the fiddler yet." " Oh, never mind," replied one of the leaders, 
" never mind, squire 1 Just come out here, if you please, and we'll settle the bill in 
two minutes." The admiral thought it best to let the bill stand, and quickly shut 
the window. 

t The public feeling in England was generally against the colonies. "Every 
man," wrote Dr. Franklin, " seems to consider himself as a piece of a sovereign 
over America ; seems to jostle himself into the throne with the king, and talks of 
mcr subjects in the colonies." 

§ Marblehead and Salem, refusing to profit by the ruin of their rival, oflfered the 



106 EPOCH III. [1774- 

stopped and distress ensued. The Virginia assembly pro- 
tested against this measure, and was dissolved by the governor. 
Party lines were drawn. Those opposed to royalty were 
termed Whigs, and those supporting it, Tories. Everywhere 
were repeated the tlu-illing words of Patrick Henry, " Give 
me liberty or give me death." Companies of soldiers, termed 
''Minute men," were formed. The idea of a continental 
union became popular. Gage, being alarmed, fortified Boston 
Neck, and seized powder wherever he could find it. A rumor 
having been circulated that the British ships were firing on 
Boston, in two days thirty thousand minute men were on 
their way to the city. A spark only was needed to kindle 
the slumbering hatred into the flames of war. 

The First Continental Congress (Sept. 5, 1774) was 
held in Philadelphia. It consisted of men of influence, and 
represented every colony except Georgia. As yet few mem- 
bers had any idea of independence. The Congress simply 
voted that obedience was not due to any of the recent acts of 
Parliament, and sustained Massachusetts in her resistance. It 
issued a protest against standing armies being kept in the 
colonies without the consent of the people, and agreed to 
hold no intercourse with Great Britain. 



1775. 

Battle of Lexington (April 19),— General Gage, learning 
that the people were gathering military stores at Concord, 
sent eight hundred men under Col. Smith and Major Pitcairn 
to destroy them. The patriots of Boston, however, were on the 

nse of their wharves to the Boston merchants. Aid and sympathy were received 
from all Bides. Schoharie, N. Y.. sent five hundred and twenty-five bushels of wheat. 



I775-] THE REVOLtlTlOKART WAR. 107 

alert, and hurried out messengers to alarm the country.* 
When the red-coats, as the British soldiers were called, reached 
Lexington, they found a company of minute men gathering 




PUTNAM SUMMONED TO WAR. 



on the village green. Eiding up, Pitcairn shouted, " Disperse, 
you rebels ; lay down your arms ! " They hesitated. A skir- 
mish ensued, in which seven Americans — the first martyrs of 
the Revolution — were killed. 

The British pushed on and destroyed the stores. But 
alarmed by the gathering militia they hastily retreated. It 
was none too soon. The whole region flew to arms. Every 
boy old enough to use a rifle hurried to avenge the death of 
his countrymen. From behind trees, fences, buildings, and 

* Paul Revere caused two lights to be hung up in the steeple of Christ Church. 
They were seen in Charlestown ; messengers set out, and he soon followed on his 
famous midnight ride. (Read Longfellow's poem.) 



108 EPOCH III. [1775- 

rocks, in front, flank and rear, so galling a fire was poured, 
that but for reinforcements from Boston, none of the British 
would have reached the city alive. As it was, they lost nearly 
three hundred men. 

Effects of the Battle. — The news that American blood 
had been spilled flew like wild-fire. Patriots came pouring in 
from all sides. Putnam* left his cattle yoked in the field, and 
without changing his working clothes, mounted his fastest 
horse, and hurried to Boston. Soon twenty thousand men 
were at work building intrenchments to shut up the British 
in the city. Congresses were formed in all the colonies. 
Committees of safety were appointed to call out the troops 
and provide for any emergency. The power of the royal 
governors was broken from Massachusetts to Georgia. 

Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17). — The patriot leader, 
Gen. Ward, having learned that the British intended to fortify 
Bunker Hill, determined to anticipate them. A body of men, 
under Col. Prescott, were accordingly assembled at Cambridge, 
and, after prayer by the president of Harvard University, 
marched to Cliarlestown Neck. Breed's Hill was then chosen 
as a more commanding site than Bunker Hill. It was bright 
moonlight, and they were so near Boston that the sentinel's 
"All's well," was distinctly heard. Yet so quietly did they 

* Israel Putnam, familiarly known as " Old Put," was born in Salem, Mass., 1718. 
Many stories are told of his groat courage and presence of mind. His descent into the 
wolfs den, shooting the animal by the light of her own glaring eyes, showed his 
love of bold adventure ; his noble generosity was displayed in the rescue of a comrade 
scout at Crown Point, at the imminent peril of his own life. He came out of one 
encounter with fourteen bullet-holes in his blanket. In 1756, a party of Indians took 
him prisoner, bound him to a stake, and made ready to torture him with fire. The 
flames were already scorching his limbs, and death seemed certain, when a French 
officer burst through the crowd and saved his life. At Fort Edward, when all others 
fled, he alone fought back the fire from a magazine in which were stored three 
hundred barrels of gunpowder, protected only by a thin partition. "His face, his 
hands, and almost his whole body, were blistered ; and in removing the mittens from 
his hands, the skin was torn ofi' with them." The British offered him money and 
the rank of major-general if he would desert the American cause ; but he could 
nfcither be daunted by toil and danger, nor bribed by gold and honora. 



17750 



THE REVOLUTION^ ART WAR. 



109 



work that there was no alarm. At daylight the British 
officers were startled by seeing the redoubt which had been 
constructed. Resolved to di'ive the Americans from their 




THE PRAYER BEFORE THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 



position, Howe crossed the river with three thousand men, 
and formed them at the landing. The roofs and steeples of 
Boston were crowded with spectators, intently watching the 
troops as they slowly ascended the hill. The patriot ranks 
lay quietly behind their earthworks until the red-coats were 
within ten rods, when Prescott shouted " Fire ! " A blaze of 
light shot from the redoubt, and whole platoons of the British 
fell. The survivors, unable to endure the terrible slaughter, 
broke and fled. They were rallied under cover of the smoke 
of Charlestown, which had been wantonly fired by Gage, 



110 EPOCH III. [1775- 

Again they were met by that deadly discharge, and again they 
fled. Eeinforeements being received, the third time they 
advanced. Only one volley smote them, and then the firing 
ceased. The American ammunition was exhausted. The 
British charged over the ramparts with fixed bayonetb. The 
patriots gallantly resisted with clubbed muskets, but were 
soon driven from the field. * 

The effect upon the Americans of this first regular battle 
v/as that of a victory. Their untrained farmer soldiers had 
put to flight the British veterans. All felt encouraged, and 
the determination to fight for liberty was intensified. 

Capture of Ticonderoga (May 10).— Ethan Allenf and 
Benedict Arnold led a small company of volunteers to sur- 
prise this fortress. As Allen rushed into the sally-port, a senti- 
nel snapped his gun at him and fled. Making liis way to the 
commander's quarters, Allen, in a voice of thunder, ordered 
him to surrender. " By whose authority ? " exclaimed the 
frightened officer. "In the name of the Great Jehovah and 

* General Warren was among the last to leave. As he was trying to rally the 
troops, a British officer, who knew him, seized a musket and shot him. Warren had 
just received his commission as major-general, but had crossed Charlestowu NecL 
in the midst of flying balls, reached the redoubt, and offered himself as a volunteer. 
He was buried near the spot where he fell. By his death America lost one of her 
truest sons. Gage is reported to have said that his fall was worth that of five 
hundred ordinary rebels. 

t Ethan Allen was a native of Connecticut. With several of his brothers he 
emigrated to what is now known as Vermont. At that time a dispute had arisen 
between the colony of New York, on the one hand, and the colonies of New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, on the other, with reference to the territory. 
The governor of New Hampshire, regardless of the claims of New York, issued 
grants of land so extensively that the region became known as the Neio Hampshire 
grants. New York having obtained a favorable decision of the courts, endeavored 
to eject the occupants of the land. Ethan Allen became conspicuous in the resist- 
ance that ensued. The " Green Mountain Boys " made him their colonel, and he 
kept a watchful eye on the officers from New York, who sought by form of law to 
dispossess the settlers of farms which had been bought and made valuable by their 
own labor. The Revolutionary War caused a lull in these hostilities, and the Green 
Mountain Boys turned their arms upon the common enemy. Allen afterward aided 
Montgomery in his Canadian expedition, but, in a fool-hardy attempt upon Montreal, 
was taken prisoner and sent to England. After a long captivity he was released, and 
returned home. Generous and frank, a vigorous writer, loyal to his country and 
true to his friends, he exerted a powerful influence on the early history of Vermont. 



1775] 



THE KEVOLUTIONART WAR. 



Ill 



the Continental Congress !" shouted Allen. No resistance was 
attempted. Large stores of camion and ammunition, Just 
then so much needed by the troops at Boston, fell into the 
hands of the Americans, without the loss of a single man. 
Crown Point was soon after as easily taken. (Map opp. p. 120.) 

The Second Continental Congress (May 10) met at 
Philadelphia in 
the midst of these 
stirring events. 
It voted to raise 
twenty thousand 
men, and ap- 
pointed General 
Washington com- 
mander- in - chief. 
A petition to the 
king was also pre- 
pared, which he 
refused to re- 
ceive. Tliis de- 
stroyed all hope 
of reconciliation. 

Condition of the Army. — On Washington's arrival before 
Boston, he found the army to number but fourteen thousand 
men. Few of them were drilled ; many were unfit for 
service ; some had left their farms at the first impulse, and 
were already weary of the hardships of war ; all were badly 
clothed and poorly armed, and there were less than nine 
cartridges to each soldier. Washington at once made every 
exertion to relieve their wants, and in the meantime kept 
Gage penned up in Boston. 

Expedition against Canada. — Late in the summer 
General Montgomery, leading an army by way of Lake 




RUINS UF FORT TICONDEROGA. 



112 EPOCH III. [1775- 

Ohamplain, captured St. John's and Montreal, and then 
appeared before Quebec. Here lie was joined by Colonel 
Arnold with a crowd of half -famished men, who had ascended 
the Kennebec and then struck across the wilderness. 

Attack upon Quebec. — Their united force was less than 
one thousand effective men. Having besieged the city for 
three weeks it was at last decided to hazard an assault. In the 
midst of a terrible snow-storm they led their forces to the 
attack. Montgomery advancing along the river, lifting with 
his own hands at the huge blocks of ice, and struggling 
through the drifts, cheered on his men. As they rushed 
forward a rude blockhouse appeared through the blinding 
snow. Charging upon it, Montgomery fell at the first fire, 
and his followers, disheartened, fled. Arnold, meanwhile, 
approached the opposite side of the city. Wliile bravely 
fighting he was severely wounded and borne to the rear. 
Morgan, his successor, pressed on the attack, but at last, 
unable either to retreat or advance against the tremendous 
odds, was forced to surrender. The remnant of the army, 
crouching behind mounds of snow and ice, maintained a 
blockade of the city until spring. At the approach of British 
reinforcements the Americans were glad to escape, leaving 
all Canada in the hands of England. 



1776. 

Evacuation of Boston (March 17). —Washington, in 
order to force the British to fight or run, sent a force to fortify 
Dorchester Heights by night. In the morning the English 
were once more astonished by seeing intrenchments which 
overlooked the city. A storm prevented an immediate attack ; 
a delay which was well improved by the provincials. General 



X776-] THE REVOLUTIOKART WAR. 113 

Howe, who was then in command, remembering the lesson 
of Bunker Hill, decided to leave, and accordingly set sail for 
Halifax with his army, fleet, and many loyalists. The next 
day Washington entered Boston amid gi'eat rejoicing. For 
eleven months the inhabitants had endured the horrors of a 
siege and the insolence of the enemy.* Their houses had 
been pillaged, their shops rifled, and theit churches pro- 
faned. 

Attack on Fort Moultrie (June 28). — Early in the 
summer an English fleet appeared off Charleston, and opened 
fire on Fort Moultrie, f So fearful was the response from 
Moultrie's guns, that at one time every man but Admiral 
Parker was swept from the deck of his vessel. General 
Clinton, who commanded the British land troops, tried to 
attack the fort in the rear, but the fire of the southern rifle- 
men was too severe. The fleet was at last so badly shattered 
that it withdrew and sailed for New York. This victory 
gave the colonists great delight, as it was their first encoun- 
ter with the boasted "Mistress of the Seas." 

* The boys of Boston were wont to amuse themselves in winter by building snow- 
housea and by skating on a pond in the Common. The soldiers having disturbed 
them in their sports, complaints were made to the inferior oflBcers, who only ridi- 
culed their petition. At last a number of the largest boys waited on General Gage. 
" What 1" said Gage, " have your fathers sent you here to exhibit the rebellion they 
have been teaching you?" "Nobody sent us," answered the leader, with flashing 
eye ; "we have never injured your troops, but they have trampled down our snow- 
hills and broken the ice of our skating-pond. We complained, and they called us 
young rebels, and told us to help ourselves if we could. We told the captain, and he 
laughed at us. Yesterday our works were destroyed for the third time, and we wUl 
bear it no longer." The British commander could not restrain his admiration. 
" The very children," said he, " draw in a love of liberty with the air they breathe. 
Go, my brave boys, and be assured, if my troops trouble you again, they shall be 
punished." 

t This fort was buOt of palmetto logs, which are so soft that balls sink into them 
without splitting the wood. Here floated the first republican flag in the South. In 
the early part of the action the stafi" was struck by a ball, and the flag fell outside the 
fort. Sergeant Jasper leaped over the breastwork, caught up the flag, and springing 
back, tied it to a sponge-stafi" (an instrument for cleaning cannon after a discharge), 
and hoisted it again to its place. The next day Governor Rutledge offered him a 
sword and a lieutenant's commission. He refused, saying, " I am not fit for the com- 
pjtny of officers ; I am only a sergeant." 



116 EPOCH III. [1770- 

Harlem Heights. Finding the American position too strong, 
Howe moved up the Sound in order to gain the rear. Wash- 
ington then withdrew to Wiite Plains. Here Howe came 
up and defeated a part of his army. Washington next 
retired into a fortified camp at North Castle. Howe, not 
daring to attack him, returned to New York and sent the 
Hessians to take Fort Washington, which they captured 
after a fierce resistance (Not. 16). 

Flight through New Jersey. — Washington had now 
retired into New Jersey in order to prevent the British from 
marching against Philadelphia. Cornwallis, with six thou- 
sand men, hurried after him, and for three weeks pursued 
the flying Americans. Many of the patriots had no shoes, 
and left their blood-stained foot-prints on the frozen ground. 
Oftentimes the van of the pursuing army was in sight of the 
American rear-guard. At last Washington reached the 
Delaware, and all the boats having been secured, crossed 
into Pennsylvania. * Howe resolved to wait until the river 
should freeze over, and then capture Philadelphia, mean- 
while quartering his troops in the neighboring villages. 

Condition of the Country. — It was a time of deep de- 
spondency. The patriot army was a mere handful of ragged, 
disheartened fugitives. Many people of wealth and influence 
went over to the enemy. New York and Newport — the sec- 
ond city in size in New England — were already in the hands 
of the British, and they were likely soon to seize Philadelphia. 

Battle of Trenton. — Washington thought it time to 
strike a daring blow. On Christmas night, in a driving 

* During this retreat, Washington repeatedly sent orders to General Lee, who was 
then at North Castle, to join him. Lee hesitated, and at last moved very slowly. 
Five days after this, while quartered in a small tavern at Baskingridge, remote from 
his troops, he was taken prisoner by the English cavalry. His capture was considered 
a great misfortune by the Americans, who thought him the best officer in the army. 
The British were greatly rejoiced, and declared they had taken the " American Pal- 
ladiom." 



1776.] 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 



117 



storm of sleet, amid drifting ice, that threatened every 
moment to crush the boats, he crossed the Delaware with 
twenty-four hundred picked men, fell upon the Hessians at 




WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. 



Trenton, in the midst of their festivities,* captured one 
thousand prisoners, slew their leader, f and safely escaped 

* Hunt, a trader with friends and foes, a neutral, had invited Ball, the Hessian 
commander, to a Christmas supper. Card-playing and wine-drinking were kept up 
all night long. A messenger came in haste, at early dawn, witli a note to the colonel. 
It was sent by a tory to give warning of the approach of the American forces. The 
Begro sejvant refused admittance to the bearer. Knowing its importance, he bade 
the negro to take the note directly to the officer. The servant obeyed, but the 
colonel, excited by wine and the play, thrust it unopened into his pocket Soon the 
roll of drums was heard, and before the pleasure-loving officer could reach his quar- 
ters the Americans were in pursuit of his fleeing soldiers. 

+ Before leaving Trenton, Washington and Greene visited the dying Hessian. It 
had been a time of splendid triumph to the American commander, but as he stood by 
the bedside, the soldier was lost in the Christian, and the victorious general showed 
himself in that hour only a sympathizing friend. 



118 EPOCH III. [1777- 

back to camp, with the loss of only four men — two killed 
and two frozen to death. (Map opposite p. 120. ) 

Tlie effect of this brilliant feat was electrical. The fires of 
patriotism were kindled afresh. New recruits were received, 
and the troops whose term of enlistment was expiring, agreed 
to remain. Howe was alarmed, and ordered Cornwallis, who 
was Just setting sail for England, to return and prepare for a 
winter's campaign. 



1777. 

Battle of Princeton (Jan. 3). — Washington soon crossed 
the Delaware again, and took post at Trenton. Just before 
sunset Cornwallis came up. His first onset being repulsed, 
he decided to wait till morning. Washington's situation 
was now most critical. Before him was a powerful army, 
and beliind, a river full of floating ice. That night,* leav- 
ing his camp-fires burning to deceive the enemy, he swept 
by country roads around the British, fell upon the troops 
near Princeton, routed them, took three hundred prisoners, 
and by rajjid marches reached Morristown Heights in safety. 
Cornwallis heard the firing and hurried to the rescue, but 
he was too late. The victory was gained, and the victors 
were beyond pursuit. 

* Washington had forty cannon. At night-fall the ground was so soft that he 
could not move them ; hut, while the council was in session, the wind changed, and 
in two hours the roads were as hard as pavement. Erskiue urged Cornwallis to 
attack the Americans that night, but he said he could " catch the fox in the morn- 
ing." On the morrow the fires were still burning, but the army was gone. None 
knew whither the patriots had fled. But at sunrise there was a sound of firing in the 
direction of Princeton. The report of the cannon through the keen frosty air could 
be distinctly heard, but Cornwallis beUeved it to be distant thunder. Erskine, how- 
ever, exclaimed, " To arms, general ! WaBhington has outgeneraled us. Let us fly 
to the rescue at Princeton 1" 



I777-] 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



119 



These exploits won for Washington universal praise,* and 
he was declared to be the saver of his country. 

Campaign in Pennsylvania. — Howe, having spent the 
next summer at ISTew York, where he was closely watched by 
Washington, finally took the field, and manoeuvred to force the 
patriot army to a general fight. 
Finding the "American Fa- 
bius" too wary for him, he sud- 
denly embarked eighteen thou- 
sand men on his brother's fleet, 
and set sail. Washington hur- 
ried south to meet him. The 
patriot army numbered only 
11,000, but when Washington 
learned that the British had 
arrived in the Chesapeake, he g -^ 
resolved to hazard a battle for 
the defence of Philadelphia. 

Battle of Brandywine 
(Sept. 11). — The Americans took position at Chad's Ford, 
on the Brandywine. Here they were attacked in front while 
Cornwallis stole around in the rear, as Clinton did in the bat- 
tle of Long Island. Sullivan, Sterling, La Fayette, f Wayne, 




MARQUIS DE LA FAYETTE. 



* Frederick the Great of Prussia is said to have declared that the achievements 
of Washington and his little band, during the six weelcs following Christmas, were 
the most brilliant recorded on the pages of military history. 

t La Fayette's full name was Marie Jean Paul 'Roch Yves Gilbert Motier Marquis 
de la Fayette. At a banquet in honor of the brother of the English king, he first heard 
the Declaration of Independence. He was won by its arguments, and from that time 
joined his hopes and sympathies to the American cause. Yet, how was he to aid it ? 
The French nobility, though disliking England, did not endorse the action of her 
colonies. He was not yet twenty years of age ; he had just married a woman whom 
he tenderly loved ; his prospects at home for honor and happiness were bright ; to 
join the patriot army would take him from his native land, his wife, and all his cov- 
eted ambitions, and lead him into a struggle that seemed as hopeless as its cause was 
just. Yet his zeal for Ainerica cvercame all these obstacles. Other difiiculties now 
arose. His family objected ; the British minister protested ; the French king with- 
held his permission. Still undaunted, he purchased a vessel, fitted it out at his own 
expense, and, escaping the offlcers sent to detain him, crossed the ocean. As soon aa 



120 EPOCH III. [i777. 

and Count Pulaski, in vain performed prodigies of valor. 
The patriots were routed, Philadelphia was taken, and the 
British army went into quarters there and at Germantown.* 

Battle of G-ermantown (Oct. 4). — Washington would 
not let the enemies of his country rest in peace. A few weeks 
after they had settled down for the winter, he made a night 
march, f and at sunrise fell upon their troops at Germantown. 
At first the attack was successful, but a few companies of 
British desperately defending a stone house caused delay. 
The co-operation of the different divisions was prevented by 
a dense fog, which also hid the confusion of the efiemy, so 
that the Americans retreated just at the moment of victory. 

Conclusion of the Campaign in Pennsylvania.— 
After these battles, Howe turned his attention to the forts 
on the Delaware, which prevented his bringing supplies up 
to Philadelphia. The gallant defenders were soon forced by 
a severe bombardment to evacuate. Washington now re- 
tired to Valley Forge for winter quarters. 

Campaign at the North. — While the British had been 
thus successful in Pennsylvania, their victories were more than 
counterbalanced by defeats at the North. An attempt to cut 
off NcAV England from New York by an expedition along 
the old traveled French and Indian war route up Lake 
Champlain, ended in disaster. J 

he landed at Charleston, he hastened to Philadelphia, and offering himself to Congress 
asked permission to serve as a volunteer without pay. A few daj's after, his acquaint- 
ance with Washington hegan, and it soon ripened into a tender and intimate friend- 
ship. His valor won for him a commission as major-general before he was twenty-one. 

* The British army was sadly demoralized by the festivities of their winter quar- 
ters. Franklin wittily said, " Howe has not taken Philadelphia so much as Philadel- 
phia has taken Howe." 

t One thousand of his men were barefoot at this time. 

i Besides the capture of Burgoyne's army, of which we shall now speak, several minor 
events occurred during the year, which, though of little importance in themselves, 
served to encourage the people. — (1.) Howe sent General Tryon with two thousand 
men to destroy the American stores at Danbury, Conn. He accomplished his work, 
and then set fire to the town. The next day he began his retreat, plundering the 




THE NORTH. 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



HCa-l'.a^»Vo ^ ■'■■ 

'■Tl "5i, Bedford,-.*.''* > '^ 



Jamafca 
San 



■C,t'\ '--' BATTLE 

'=^ LONG 
ISLAND 



tone^ Y. 



120* 




130** 



1777-] THE EEVOLUTIOKART WAR. 131 

Burgoyne's Invasion. — In June, Burgoyne marched 
south from Canada with an army of ten thousand British and 
Indians. Forts Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and Edward, and 
the supplies at Whitehall, successively fell into his hands. 
General Schuyler, with the small force at his command, could 
only obstruct his path through the wilderness by felling trees 
across the road, and breaking down bridges. The loss of so 
many strongholds caused general alarm. Lincoln — with the 
Massachusetts troops, Arnold — noted for his headlong valor, 
and Morgan — with his famous riflemen, were sent to check 
Burgoyne's advance. Militiamen gathered from the neighbor- 
ing States,* and an army was rapidly collected and drilled. 
So much dissatisfaction, however, arose with Schuyler that 

people and devastating the country on his way. But the militiamen under Wooster, 
Arnold, and Sillimau, handled his forces so roughly that they were glad to reach their 
boats. General Wooster, who was mortally wounded in the pursuit, was nearly 
seventy years of age, hut fought with the vigor of youth. Two horses were shot 
under Arnold, and he received the fire of a whole platoon at a distance of thirty yards, 
yet escaped uninjured.— (3.) Colonel Meigs avenged the burning of Danbury. With 
about two hundred men he crossed in whale-boats to Long Island, destroyed a great 
quantity of stores, including twelve ships at Sag Harbor, took ninety prisoners, and 
escaped without losing a man. — (.3.) The Americans were extremely anxious to offset 
the capture of General Lee, especially as they had no prisoner of equal rank to exchange 
for him. At this time. General Prescott, who held command in Rhode Island, find- 
ing himself surroundcu by ships and a superior British force, became very negligent. 
Accordingly Colonel Barton formed a plan to capture him. Dexterously avoiding the 
enemy's vessels, he rowed ten miles in whale-boats and with about forty militia 
landed near Prescott's quarters. Seizing the astonished sentinel who guarded his 
door, they hurried off the half-dressed general. A soldier escaping from the house 
gave the alarm, but the laughing guard assumed him he had seen a ghost. They soon, 
however, found it to be no jesting matter, and vainly pursued the exultant Barton. 
This capture was very annoying to Prescott, as he had just oflered a price for Arnold's 
head, and his tyrannical conduct had made him obnoxious to the people. General 
Howe readily parted with Lee in exchange for Prescott. 

* The outrages of the Indians along the route led many to join the army. None of 
their bloody acts causeu more general execration than the murder of Jane McCrea. 
This young lady was the betrothed of a Captain Jones of the British army. She lived 
near Port Edward in the family of her brother, who, being a whig, started for Albany 
on Burgoyne's approach. But she, hoping to meet her lover, lingered at the house of 
a Mrs. McNeil, a staunch loyalist, and a cousin of the British general, Praser. Early 
one morning the house was surprised by Indians, who dragged out the inmates and 
hurried them away toward Burgoyne's camp. Mrs. McNeil arrived there in safety. 
A short time after, another party came in with fresh scalps, among which she recog- 
nized the long glossy hair of her friend. The savages, on being charged with her 
murder, declared that she had been killed by a chance shot from a pursuing party; 

6 



122 EPOCH III. [1777' 

he was superseded by Gates just as he was ready to reap the 
results of his well-laid schemes. With noble-minded patriot- 
ism he made known to Gates all his plans, and generously 
assisted him in their execution. The army was now stationed 
at Bemis's Heights, Avhere fortifications were thrown up 
under the direction of Kosciusko* (kos-se-us'-ko). 

Burgoyne's Difficulties. — In the meantime, before Gates 
took command, two events occurred which materially de- 
ranged the plans of Burgoyne. 

1. St. Leger had been sent to take Fort Schuyler, f thence 
to ravage the Mohawk Valley and join Burgoyne's army at 
Albany. General Arnold being dispatched to relieve that 
fort, accomplished it by a stratagem. A half-witted tory boy 
who had been taken prisoner, was promised his freedom, if 
he would spread the report among St. Leger's troops that a 
large body of Americans was close at hand. The boy, having 
cut holes in his clothes, ran breathless into the camp of the 
besiegers, showing the bullet-holes and describing his narrow 
escape from the enemy. When asked their number, he mys- 
teriously pointed upward to the leaves on the trees. The 
Indians and British were so frightened that they fled pre- 
cipitately, leaving their tents and artillery behind them. 



whereupon they had scalped her to secure the bounty. The precise truth has never 
been known. Captahi Jones possessed himself of the sad memento of his betrothed, 
and resigned. The government refusing his resignation, he deserted, and for more 
than fifty years lived remote from society, a heart-broken man. 

* This general was a Pole of noble birth. While in France he formed the acquaint- 
ance of Franklin, who recommended him to Washington. He came to America and 
offered himself " to fight as a volunteer for American independence." "What can 
you do ?" asked the commander. " Try me," was Kosciusko's laconic reply. Wash- 
ington was greatly pleased with him, and made him his aid. He became a colonel in 
the engineer corps, and superintended the construction of the works at West Point. 
After the war he returned home and led the Poles in their struggles for independence. 
At Cracow is a mound of earth, 150 feet high, raised in his memory. It is composed 
of earth brought from the battle-fields on which the Poles fought for liberty. In the 
new world, his name is perpetuated by a monument at West Point. 

t Fort Stanwix, ou the site of Rome, N. Y., in 1776 was named after Gen. Schuyler. 



I777-] 



THE REVOLUTIOlsrART WAR. 



123 




THE ALARM AT FORT SCHUYLER. 



2. Burgoyne sent a detachment under Colonel Baum to 
seize the supplies the Americans had collected at Bennington, 
Vt. General Stark with the militia met him there. As 
Stark saw the British lines forming for the attack, he ex- 
claimed, ''There are the red-coats ; we must heat them to- 
day, or Molly Stark is a widow." His patriotism and hravery 
so inspired his raw troops that they defeated the British reg- 
ulars and took about six hundred prisoners. * 

The Two Battles of Saratoga (Sept. 19 and Oct. 7).— 
Disappointed in his expectation of supplies and reinforce- 
ments from both these directions, Burgoyne now moved south- 



* One old man had five sons in the patriot army at Bennington. A neighbor, just 
from the field, told him that one had been unfortunate. " Has he proved a coward or 
a traitor?" asked the father. "Worse than that," was the answer ; " he has fallen, 
but while bravely fighting." "Ah," said the father, " then I am satisfied." 



134 EPOCH III. [1777- 

ward and attacked Gates's army at Bemis's Heights near Sara- 
toga. The armies surged to and fro through the day, like the 
ebbing and flowing of the tide. The strife did not cease until 
darkness closed over the battle-field. For two weeks after- 
ward, both armies lay in camp fortifying their positions, and 
each watching for an opportunity to take the other at a disad- 
vantage. * Burgoyne, finding that his provisions were low and 
that he must either fight or fly, again moved out to attack the 
Americans. Arnold, who had been unjustly deprived of his 
command since the last battle, maddened by the sight of the 
conflict, rushed into the thickest of the fight, f Gates, fearing 
that he might win fresh laurels, ordered Major Armstrong to 
recall him, but he was already out of reach. He had no 
authority to fight, much less to direct ; but, dashing to the 
head of his old command, where he was received with cheers, 
he ordered a charge on the British line. Urging on the 
fight, leading every onset, delivering his orders in person 
where the bullets flew thickest, he forced the British J to their 
camp. Here the Hessians, dismayed by these terrific attacks, 
fired one volley and fled. Arnold, having forced an entrance, 
was wounded in the same leg as at Quebec (p. 112), and borne 

* The British camp was kept in continual alarm. Officers and soldiers were con- 
stantly dressed and ready for action. One night, twenty young farmers residingnear 
the camp, resolved to capture the enemy's advance picket-guard. Armed with fowl- 
ing-pieces, they marched silently through the woods until they were within a few 
yards of the picket. They then rushed out from the bushes, the captain blowing an 
old horse-trumpet and the men yelling. There was no time for the sentinel's hail. 
" Ground your arms, or you are all dead men !" cried the patriot captain. Thinking 
that a large force had fallen upon them, the picket obeyed. The young farmers led 
to the American camp, with all the parade of regulars, over thirty British soldiers. 

t So fierce was the battle, that a single cannon was taken and retaken five times. 
Finally, Colonel Cilly leaped upon it, waved his sword, and "dedicating the gun to 
the American cause," opened it upon the enemy with their own ammunition. 

i General Fraser was the mind and soul of the British army. Morgan soon saw 
that this brave man alone stood between the Americans and victory. Calling to him 
some of his best men, he said, " That gallant officer is General Fraser. I admire and 
honor him; but he must die. Stand among thosebushesaud do your duty," Infive 
minutes Fraser fell, mortally wounded. 



1777] THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 136 

from the field, but not until he had won a victory while 
Gates stayed in his tent. 

Effects of these Battles. — Burgojne now fell back to Sara- 
toga. Hemmed in on all sides, there was no hope of escape. 
Indians and tories were constantly deserting. Provisions were 
low and water was scarce, as no one, except the women, 
dared to go to the river for it. The American batteries 
commanded the British camp. While a council of war, held 
in Burgoyne's tent, was considering the question of surrender, 
an 18-lb. cannon-ball passed over the table around which the 
officers sat. Under these circumstances the decision was 
quickly made. The entire army, nearly six thousand strong, 
laid down their arms, and an American detachment marched 
into their camp to the tune of Yankee Doodle. General 
Burgoyne handed his sword to General Gates, who promptly 
returned it. 

A shout of joy went up all over the land at the news of 
this victory. From the despair caused by the defeats of 
Brandywine and Germantown, the nation now rose to the 
highest pitch of confidence. 



1778- 

Winter in Valley Forge. — The winter passed in Valley 
Forge was the gloomiest period of the war. The continental 
paper money was so depreciated in value that an ofl&cer's pay 
would not keep him in clothes. Many, having spent their 
entire fortune in the war, were now compelled to resign, in 
order to get a living. The men were encamped in cold, com- 
fortless huts, with little food or clothing. Barefooted, they 
left on the frozen ground their tracks in blood. Few had 
blankets, and straw could not be obtained. Soldiers, who 
were enfeebled by hunger and benumbed by cold, slept on 



126 



EPOCH III. 



[1778. 



the bare earth. Sickness followed. With no change of cloth- 
ing, no suitable food, and no medicines, death was the only- 
relief. Amid this terrible suffering the fires of patriotism 
burned brightly. Washington felt that his cause was just, 
and inspired all around him with his sublime faith. * 




Washington's headquarters at valley forge. 

Aid from France. — In the spring the hearts of all 
were gladdened by the news that, through the efforts of 

* During this winter Washington was quartered at the house of Isaac Potts. One 
day, while Potts was on his way up the creek near hy, he heard a voice of prayer. 
Softly following its direction, he soon discovered the General upon his knees, his 
cheeks wet with tears. Narrating the incident to his wife, he added with much 
emotion, " If there is any one to whom the Lord will listen, it is George Washington, 
and under such a commander, our independence is certain." — Besides all the perils 
of want and famine which he shared with his soldiers, Washington was called upon 
to suffer from envy aud calumny. General Conway, a cunning, restless intriguer, 
formed a cabal of officers against Washington. Their plan was to wound his feelings 
so that he would resign. In that event Gates, whose reputation was very high, 
would succeed to the command. Pennsylvania sent to Congress a remonstrance 
censuring Washington. The same was done by members from Massachusetts. For- 
tunately, the army and the best citizens knew the inspiration of the movement to be 
jealousy, and their indignation was unbounded. Neither Conway nor Adams dared 
show himself among the soldiers, and the attack recoiled on the heads of its instiga- 
tors. — Soon after this, England sent commissioners with liberal proposals, which, 
before the war commenced, would have been accepted ; but that day was now past. 
Next bribery was tried. Among those approached was General Reed of Pennsyl- 
vania. He was offered ten thousand guineas and distinguished honors if he would 
exert his influence to effect a reconciliation. " I am not worth purchasing," said 
the honest patriot, "but such as I am, the king of Great Britain is not rich enough 
to buy me," • 



1778.] 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



127 



Franklin,* France had acknowledged the Independence of 
the United States, and that a fleet was on its way to help 
them in their struggle for independence. 

Battle of Monmouth (June 28). — Howe having 
returned to England, Clinton succeeded him. The British 
government, alarmed by the sending of the French fleet, 
ordered Clinton to concentrate his forces at New York. 
Washington rapidly followed the English across New 

* Benjamin Franklin was bom in Boston, 1706, N. S. ; died in Pliiladelphia, 1790. 
His father was a soap and candle maker, with small means, and Benjamin, being the 
youngest of seventeen children, had little 
opportunity to gratify his desire for 
knowledge. By abstaining from meat for 
two years, he managed to buy a few 
books, which he diligently studied. At 
seventeen years of age he lauded in Phil- 
adelphia with a silver dollar and a shilling 
in copper. As, with his extra shirts and 
stockings stuffed in his pockets, he 
walked along the streets, eating the roll 
of bread which served for his breakfast, 
his future wife stood at her father's door 
and smiled at his awkward appearance, 
little dreaming of his brilliant future, or 
of its interest to her. He soon obtained 
employment as a printer. Being induced 
by false representations to go to England, 
he found himself almost penniless in a 
strange land. With his usual industry he 
■went to work, and soon made friends and 
a good living. Returning to Philadel- 
phia he established a newspaper, and in 
1732 commenced to publish "Poor 

Richard's Almanac," which for twenty years was quite as popular in Europe as in 
America. Its common-sense proverbs and useful hints are household words to 
this day. Retiring from business with a flue fortune, he devoted himself chiefly to 
science. His discoveries in electricity are world-renowned. (See Steele's New 
Physics, pp. 828, 251.) Franklin was an unflinching patriot. While in England he 
defended the cause of liberty with great zeal and ability. He helped to draft the 
Declaration of Independence, and was one of its signers. Having been appointed 
ambassador to France, he first invested all his ready money, $15,000, in the conti- 
nental loan, a practical proof of his patriotism, since its repayment was extremely 
improbable. His influence at the French court was unbounded. He was revered 
for his wit, his genius, his dignity, and his channing conversation. He became to 
the American cause in the old world what Washington was in the new. On his 
return he was elected president of Pennsylvania for three successive years. Ho 
gave the whole of his salary, $30,000, to benevolent objects. In his eighty-second 
year, he was a member of the Constitutional Convention. At his death twenty 
thousand persons assembled to do honor to his memory. 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 



128 EPOCH III. [1778 

Jersey and overtook them at Monmouth. General Lee,* 
who conducted the attack, ordered a retreat. The men, 
entangled in a swamp, were becoming demoralized as they 
retired from the field, when Washington, riding up, bitterly 
rebuked Lee, by his personal presence rallied the men, and 
sent them back against the enemy. The fight lasted all that 
long sultry day.f In the darkness of night Clinton stole 
away with his men to New York. 

Campaign in Rhode Island. — A combined attack on 
Newport was arranged to be made by the French fleet under 
D'Estaing (des-tang), and the American army under General 
Sullivan. Soon after the French entered Narraganset Bay, 
Howe arrived off the harbor with the English fleet. D'Estaing 
went out to meet him. A storm came on, which so shattered 
both fleets that they were compelled to put back for repairs. 
General Sullivan, being thus deserted, retreated just in time 
to escape Clinton, who came up from New York with rein- 
forcements. The French gave no further aid during the year. 

The Wyoming Massacre. — In July, a band of tories 
and Indians under Butler, entered the beautiful valley of the 
Wyoming. Most of the able-bodied men had gone to the war. 
The old men and the boys armed for the defence. The 
women and children fled for refuge to a fort near the present 
site of Wilkesbarre. Taking counsel of their courage, and 
their helpless mothers, wives, and children, a handful of 
men sallied out to meet the invaders, but were quickly de- 

* Charles Lee, for his conduct at Monmoutli, and his disrespectful letters to 
Washington, and afterward to Congress, was dismissed from the army. He retired 
to his estate in Virginia, where he lived in a rude house whose only partitions were 
chalk marks on the floor— an improvement upon walls on which he prided himself — 
Burrounded by his dogs, his only intimate companions. 

+ During the day an artilleryman was shot at his post. His wife, Mary Pitcher, 
while bringing water to her husband from a spring, saw him fall and heard the com- 
mander order the piece to bo removed from the field. Instantly dropping the pail, 
Bhe hastened to the cannon, seized the rammer, and with great skill and courage 
performed her husband's duty. The soldiers gave her the nickname of Major Molly. 
Congress voted her a sergeant's commisBion with half-pay through life. 



1778.] THE EEVOLUTIONAET WAR. 129 

f eated. All that night the Indians tortured their prisoners in 
every way that savage cruelty could devise. The fort having 
been surrendered on promise of safety, Butler did his best to 
restrain his savage allies, but in vain. By night the whole 
valley was ablaze with burning dwellings, while the people fled 
for their hves through the wilderness. 



1779. 

Campaign at the South. — At the close of the preceding 
autumn the scene of conflict was transferred to Georgia.* 
Savannah and Augusta were captured, and soon the entire 
State was conquered (map opp. p. 121). The British gover- 
nor being restored, England could once more boast of a royal 
province among the colonies, Prevost now led the British 
against Charleston, S. C. He had scarcely summoned the city 
when he heard that Lincoln, his dreaded foe, was after him 
with the militia, and he was glad to escape back to Savannah. 
In September, D'Estaing joined Lincoln in an attack upon 
that city. After a severe bombardment an unsuccessful 
assault was made, in which a thousand lives were lost. Count 
Pulaskif was mortally wounded. The simple-hearted Sergeant 
Jasper died gi-asping the banner presented to his regiment at 
Fort Moultrie. D'Estaing refused to give further aid ; thus 
again deserting the Americans when help was most needed. 

* The British, discouraged by their failure to subdue the eastern and middle States, 
during the remainder of the war put forth their principal stren^jth at the South. 

t Count Pulaski was a Polish patriot who, having lost his father and brothers in 
the hopeless defence of his country, and being himself outlawed, had come to flght 
for the freedom of America. At first he served as a volunteer. He fought valiantly 
at the battle of Brandywine. During the second year he commanded an independent 
corps of cavalry, lancers, and light infantry, called " Pulaski's Legion," with which 
he did effectual service. He was buried in the Savannah Kiver. The corner-stone of 
a monument raised to his memory in Savannah, was laid by La Fayette while visiting 
that city during Mb triumphal progress through the United States. 



130 EPOCH III. [1779. 

Campaign at the North. — Clinton did little except to 
send out predatory parties. Norwalk, Fairfield, and New 
Haven, Conn., were either burned or plundered. Tryon, 
who commanded the Connecticut expedition,* boasted of his 
clemency in leaying a single house standing on the New 
England coast. 

The Capture of Stony Point by General Wayne, with 
only eight hundred men, was one of the most brilliant exploits 
of the war. The countersign, y/hich, curiously enough, was 
*' The fort is ours," was obtained from a negro who was in the 
habit of selling strawberries at the fort. He guided them in 
the darkness to the causeway leading over the flooded marsh 
around the foot of the hill, on which the fort was situated. 
The unsuspicious sentinel, having received the countersign, 
was chatting with the negro, when he was suddenly seized and 
gagged. Wayne's men passed over the causeway and reached 
the base of the hill undiscovered. Forming in two divisions, 
with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets, they commenced 
the ascent of the steep and narrow path which led to the top. 
They had nearly reached the picket before they were dis- 
covered. Fire was at once opened upon them. Wayne was 
wounded, but commanded his aids to carry him that he might 
die at the head of the column. The rush of his men was 
irresistible. An instant more, and a deafening shout told that 
the fort was won. The British lost in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners, six hundred men. 

General Sullivan's Expedition. — The atrocities of the 
Indians had kept the inhabitants of the Wyoming and 
Mohawk valleys in continued terror. In the summer, General 

* General Putnam was at Horse Neck when Tryon was in the \icinity. Hastily 
gathering a few militia, he annoyed the British as long as possible, and then, com- 
pelled to flee before the enemy's overwhelming force, his men hid themselves in the 
adjacent swamp, while he, spurring his spirited horse over a precipice, descended a 
zigzag path, where the British di-agoons did not dare to follow. 



1779-] 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



131 




GIVING THE COUNTERSIGN AT STONY POINT. 



Sullivan led an expedition into the Genesee country. Near 
Elmira, N. Y., he fought a fierce battle with the Indians and 
their tory allies. The latter being defeated, fled in dismay, 
while Sullivan marched to and fro through that beautiful 
region, laying waste their corn-fields, felling their orchards, 
and burning their houses. * 

Naval Exploits. — No American successes caused more 
annoyance to the British than those of the navy. In 1775, 
Washington fitted out several vessels to cruise along the New 
England coast as privateers. In the same year Congress 
established a naval department. Swift sailing vessels, manned 
by bold seamen, infested every avenue of commerce. Within 

* The Indians, in the fertile coantry of the Cayugas and Senecas, had towns and 
villages regularly laid out ; framed houses, some of them well finished, painted, and 
having chimneys ; and broad and productive fields, with orchards of apple, pear, and 
peach trees. 



132 EPOCH III. [1779- 

three years they captured five hundred ships. They even 
cruised among the British isles, and, entering harbors, seized 
and burned ships lying at English wharves. 

Paul Jones is the most famous of these naval heroes. 
While cruising with a squadron of five vessels off the north- 
east coast of England, he met the Serapis and the Countess 
of Scarborough convoying a fleet of merchantmen. At half- 
past seven in the evening of September 23, he laid his own 
vessel, the Bon Homme Ei chard,* alongside the Serapis, and 
a desperate struggle ensued. In the midst of the engage- 
ment he lashed the ships together, f The crews then fought 
hand to hand. The Richard was old and rotten. Water 
poured into the hold. Three times both vessels were on fire. 
At ten o'clock the Serapis surrendered. Meanwhile the 
Pallas, one of his companions, captured the Countess of 
Scarborough, but the other ships rendered him no aid. In- 
deed, the Alliance, Captain Landis, repeatedly fired into the 
Richard, hoping to force Jones to surrender, that Landis 
might then capture the Serapis and retake the Richard, As 
Jones's vessel was already in a sinking condition, he trans- 
ferred his crew to the captured frigate, and sailed for the 
Texel. 



1780. 

Campaign at the South. — Georgia having been subdued, 
the war was now renewed in South Carolina, Charleston 
was attacked by land and sea. General Lincoln, after 

* Jones had given this name (Goodman Eichard) to his ship in honor of Dr. Frank- 
lin, whose sayings as " Poor Richard " he warmly admired. 

t At this point the contest had been raging an hour, and the ships had twice fallen 
foul of each other. The first time, the Serapis hailed the Richard, asking if she had 
" struck her colors." " I have not yet begun to fight," was the reply of Jones, 



1780.] THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 133 

enduring a siege of forty days and a terrible bombardment, 
was forced to surrender. Marauding expeditions* were sent 
out which soon overran the whole State. Clinton returned 
to New York, leaving Oornwallis in command. 

Battle of Camden (Aug. 16).— General Gates, "the 
conqueror of Burgoyne," now taking command of the troops 
at the South, f marched to meet the enemy under Oornwallis 
near Camden. Singularly, both generals had appointed the 
same time to make a night attack. While marching for this 
purpose, the advance guards of the two armies unexpectedly 
encountered each other in the woods. After some sharp 
skirmishing, the armies waited for day. At dawn Cornwallis 
ordered a charge. The militia, demoralized by the fighting 
in the night, fled at the first fire, but De Kalb, with the 
continental regulars, stood firm. At last he fell, pierced 
with eleven wounds. His brave comrades for a time fought 
desperately over his body, but were overwhelmed by numbers. 
The army was so scattered that it could not be collected. A 
few of the officers met Gates eighty miles in the rear with no 
soldiers. All organized resistance to British rule now ceased 
in the South. 

Partisan Corps. — The Carolinas were full of tories. 
Many of them joined the British army ; others organized 
companies that mercilessly robbed and murdered their whig 
neighbors. On the other hand there were patriot bands 
which rendezvoused (ren-da-vood) in swamps, and sallied 
out as occasion offered. These partisan corps kept the 



* One of these, under the command of the brutal Tarleton, at Waxkaw Creek, over- 
took a body of four hundred Continental troops and a small party of cavalry under 
Colonel Buford. The British gave no quarter, and after the Americans surrendered, 
mercilessly maimed and butchered the larger portion of them. 

t Lee met Gates on his way to join the southern army. His well-worded caution, 
"Beware your northern laurels do not turn to southern willows," seems almost pro- 
phetic of the Camden disaster. 



134 



EPOCH III. 



[1780. 



country in continual terror. Marion,* Sumter, f Pickens, 
and Lee, were noted patriot leaders. Their bands were 

strong enough to cut off Brit- 
ish detachments, and even 
successfully attack small garri- 
sons. The cruel treatment 
which the whigs received from 
the British J drove many to 
this partisan warfare. The 
issue of the contest at the 
South was mainly decided by 
these bold citizen soldiers. 

Continental Money had 

now been issued by Congress 

to the amount of $200,000,000. At this time it was so much 

depreciated that $40 in bills were worth only $1 in specie. 

A pair of boots cost $600 in continental currency. A soldier's 




*. A British oflBcer s&nt to negotiate concerning an exchange of prisoners, dined 
■with Marion. The dinner consisted of roasted potatoes. Surprised at this meagre 
diet, he made some inquiries, when he found that this was their customary fare, and 
that the patriot general served without pay. This devotion to the cause of liberty so 
affected the officer that he resigned his commission, thinking it folly to fight such men, 

+ At Hanging Bock (Aug. 6) Sumter gained a victory over a strong body of British 
and tories. He began the action with only two rounds of ammunition, but soon sup- 
plied himself from the fleeing tories. Frequently, in these contests, a portion of the 
bands would go into a battle without guns, arming themselves with the muskets of 
their comrades as they fell. At King's Mountain (Oct. 7) a large body of independ- 
ent riflemen, each company under its own leader, attacked Ferguson, who had been 
sent out to rally the tories of the neighborhood. Ferguson and one hundred and fifty 
of his men were killed, and the rest taken prisoners. 

X An event which occurred in Charleston aroused the bitterest resentment. When 
that city was captured by the British, Colonel Isaac Hayne, with others, was paroled, 
but was afterwards ordered into the British ranks. At this time his wife and several 
of his children lay at the point of death with small-pox. The choice was given him 
to become a British subject or to be placed in close confinement. Agonized by 
thoughts of his dying family, he signed a pledge of allegiance to England, with the 
assurance that he should never be required to fight against his countrymen. Being 
afterward summoned by Lord Rawdon to join the British army, he considered the 
pledge annulled, and raised a partisan band. He was captured, and without being 
allowed a trial, was condemned to death. The citizens of Charleston vainly implored 
pardon for him. Lord Rawdon allowed him forty-eight hours in which to take leave 
of his orphan children, at the end of which time he was hanged. 



1780.] 



THE REVOLUTIONAKY WAR. 



135 




CONTINENTAL MONEY. 



pay for a month, would hardly buy him a dinner. To make 
the matter worse, the British had flooded the country with 
counterfeits, which could 
not be told from the genu- 
ine. Many persons refused 
to take continental money. 
The sufferings of the sol- 
diers and the difficulty of 
procuring supplies may be 
readily imagined. * The 
Pennsylvania regiments in 
camp at Morristown, claim- 
ing that their time had expired, demanded their discharge. 
At last, 1,300 strong, they set out for Princeton to secure 
redress at the point of the bayonet, but a committee of Con- 
gress succeeded in satisfying them, f 

Arnold's Treason. — The English did little at the North, 
and the condition of Washington's army prevented his making 
any movement. Meanwhile the cause of liberty suffered a 
terrible blow from one who had been its gallant defender. 
General Arnold, whose bravery at Quebec and Saratoga had 
awakened universal admiration, was stationed at Philadelphia 
while his wound was healing. He there married a tory lady 
and lived in great extravagance. By various acts of oppres- 
sion, he rendered himself so odious that on one occasion he 
was publicly mobbed. Charges being preferred against him, 
he was convicted and sentenced to be reprimanded by the 
commander-in-chief. Washington performed the duty very 
gently and considerately ; but Arnold, stung by the disgrace. 



* In this crisis, Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, sent three million rations. Sol- 
diers' relief associations were organized by the women of that city. They made 
twenty-two hundred shirts, each inscribed with the name of the lady who sewed it. 

t Clinton's agents went among the troops offering large rewards for desertion. 
The emissaries mistook their men, for the soldiers gave them up as spies. 



136 EPOCH III. [1780. 

and desperate in fortune, resolved to gratify both his revenge 
and love of money by betraying his country. He accordingly 
secured from Washington the command of West Point, at 
that time the most important post in America. He then pro- 
posed to Clinton, with whom he had previously correspond.ed, 
to surrender it to the British. The offer was accepted, 
and Major Andre appointed to confer with him. Andre 
ascended the Hudson, and, on the night of September 21, 
went ashore from the English ship Vulture to meet the 
traitor. Morning dawned before they had completed their 
plans. In the meantime, fire having been opened on the 
Vulture, she had dropped down the river. Andre, now left 
within the American lines, was obliged to make his way back 
to New York by land. . He had reached Tarrytown in safety, 
when, at a sudden turn in the road, his horse's reins were 
seized, and three men* sprang before him. His manner 
awakening suspicion, they searched him, and linding papers 
which seemed to prove him a spy, they carried him to the 
nearest American post. Arnold was at breakfast, when he 
received a note announcing Andre's capture. He called 
aside his wife and told her of his peril. Terrified by his 
words, she fainted. Kissing his boy, who lay asleep in the 
cradle, Arnold darted out of the house, mounted a horse, by 
an unfrequented path reached the river, jumped into his 
boat, and was rowed to the Vulture. He received, as the 
reward of his treachery, £6,315, a colonelcy in the English 
army, and the contempt of everybody. The very name, 
"Arnold the Traitor," will always declare his infamy. f 

Andre was tried and hung as a spy. Every effort was 
made to save him, and his fate awakened universal sympathy. 

* The names of these men were Paulding, Van Wart, and Williams. Andr6 offered 
them his horse, watch, purse, and any sum they might name, if they would release 
him. The incorruptible patriots declared that they would not let him go for ten thou- 
sand guineas. Congress voted to each of them a silver medal and a pension for life. 

t Arnold was thoroughly despised by the British officers, and often insulted. Many 



1781] THE REVOLtJTIONARY WAR. 137 



I78I. 

The War at the South. — General Greene, who was 
appointed to succeed General Gates, found the army to consist 
of only two thousand half-clothed, half-starved men. A part 
of his force, under Morgan, was attacked (January 17) at 
Coivpens* by Tarleton. The militia fleeing, the continentals 
fell back to secure a better position. The Britidi mistook 
this for a retreat and were rushing on in confusion, when the 
continentals suddenly faced about, poured in a deadly fire at 
only thirty yards distance, and drove them in utter rout. 
Tarleton fled to Oornwallis, who set out in hot haste, eager 
to punish the victors and recapture the prisoners. Morgan 
started for Virginia, and crossed the Catawba just before 
Oornwallis appeared in sight. Night came on, and with it 
rain, which raised the river so high as to keep the impatient 
Oornwallis waiting three days. 

Greene's Retreat. — General Greene now joined Morgan, 
and conducted the retreat. At the Yadkin, just as the Amer- 
icans had reached the other side, it began to rain. When 
Oornwallis came up, the river was so swollen that he could 
not cross. He, however, marched up the stream, effected a 

stories are told illustrative of English sentiment toward him. A member of Parlia- 
ment, about to address the House of Commons, happening, as he rose, to see Arnold 
in the gallery, said, pointing to the traitor, " Mr. Speaker, I will not speak while that 
man is in the House." George the Third introduced Arnold to Earl Barcarra^ one of 
Burgoyne's officers at Bemis's Heights. " Sire," said the proud old Earl as he turned 
from Arnold, refusing his hand, " I know General Arnold, and abominate traitors." 
When Talleyrand was about to come to America, he sought letters of introduction 
from Arnold, but received the reply, " I was born in America ; I lived there to the 
prime of my life ; but, alas 1 I can call no man in America my friend." 

* Colonel William A. Washington, in a personal combat in this battle, wounded 
Tarleton. Months afterward, the British officer while conversing with Mrs. Jones, a 
witty American lady, sneeringly said, " That Colonel Washington is very illiterate. 
I am told that he cannot write his name." "Ah, Colonel," replied she, " you bear 
evidence that he can make his mark." Tarleton expressing, at another time, his 
desire to see Colonel Washington, the lady replied, "Had you looked behind you at 
Cowpens, you might have had that pleastire." 



138 EPOCH III. [1781- 

passage, and was soon in full pursuit again. Now came a 
race, on parallel roads, thirty miles per day, for the fords of 
the Dan. Greene reached them first, and Cornwallis gave up 
the chase. This signal deliverance of Greene's exhausted 
army awoke every pious feeling of the American heart, and 
was a cause for general thanksgiving.* 

Campaign Closed. — Having rested his men, Greene again 
took the field, harassing the enemy by a fierce partisan war- 
fare. At Guilford Court-House (March 15) he hazarded a 
battle. The militia fled again at the first fire, but the con- 
tinental regulars fought as in the time of De Kalb. The 
Americans at last retired, but the British had bought their 
victory so dearly that Cornwallis also retreated. Greene again 
pursuing, Cornwallis shut himself up in Wilmington. There- 
upon Greene turned his course to South Carolina, and with 
the aid of Marion, Sumter, Lee, and Pickens, nearly deliv- 
ered this State and Georgia from the English, f In the battle 
of Eutaw Springs (Sept, 8) the forces of the enemy were so 
crippled that they retired toward Charleston. Cornwallis, 
refusing to follow Greene into South Carolina, had already 
gone north into Virginia, and though a fierce partisan warfare 

* During this retreat, General Greene, after a hard day's ride in the rain, alighted 
at the door of Mrs. Elizabeth Steele, in Salisbury, N. C, announcing himself as 
" fatigued, hungry, cold, and penniless." Quickly providing the honored guest with 
a warm supper before a cheerful fire, this patriotic woman brought forth two small 
bags of specie, her earnings for years. "Take these," she said; "you will want 
them, and I can do without them." " Never," says his biographer, " did relief come 
at a more needy moment ; the hero resumed his dangerous journey that night with a 
lightened heart." 

Another story illustrative of the patriotism of the Southern women is told of Mrs. 
Motte. The British had taken possession of her house, fortified and garrisoned it. 
On Colonel Lee's advance, she furnished him a bow and arrows, by means of which 
fire was thrown upon the shingled roof. Her mansion was soon in flames. The 
occupants, to save their lives, surrendered. 

t Congress voted the highest honors to General Greene, who, by his prudence, 
wisdom, and valor, had, with such insignificant forces and miserable equipments, 
achieved so much for the cause of liberty. He never gained a decided victory, yet 
his defeats bad all the effect of successes, and his very retreats strengthened the 
coafldence of his men and weakened that of the enemy. 



1781.] THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 139 

still distracted the country, this engagement closed the long 
an'd fiercely fought contest at the South.* 

The War at the North. — The traitor Arnold, burning 
with hatred, led an expedition into Virginia. He conducted 
the war with great brutality, burning private as well as public 
property. La Fayette was sent to check him, but with his 
small force f could accomplish little. Cornwallis, arriving 
from the South, now took Arnold's place, and continued this 
marauding tour through the country, Clinton, however, fear- 
ing Washington, who seemed to threaten New York, directed 
Cornwallis to keep near the sea-coast so as to be ready to 
help him. Cornwallis, accordingly, after having destroyed 
ten million dollars worth of property, fortified himself at 
Yorktown. 

Siege of Yorktown. — It was arranged to attack Corn- 
wallis at this place by the combined American^ and French 
forces. Washington, by a feint on New York, kept Clinton 
in the dark regarding his plans until he was far on his way § 

* At the battle of Eutaw, Manning, a noted Boldier of Lee's legion, was in hot 
pursuit of the flying British, when he suddenly found himself surrounded by the 
enemy and not an American within forty rods. He did not hesitate, but seizing an 
oflicer by the collar, and wresting his sword from him by main force, kept his body 
-as a shield v/hile he rapidly backed off under a heavy fire from the perilous neighbor- 
hood. The frightened British officer when thus summarily captured, began imme- 
diately to enumerate his titles : " I am Sir Henry Barry, deputy adjutant-general, 
captain in 52d regiment," &c., &c. "Enough," interrupted his captor; "you are 
just the man I was looking for." 

t Many of La Fayette's men having deserted, he set forth the baseness of such 
conduct, and then offered to all who desired it, a permit to go home. Not a man 
accepted, nor was there after this a single case of desertion. One soldier, not being 
able to walk, hired a cart that he might keep up with his comrades. Shoes, linen, and 
many other necessaries were provided at La Fayette's expense. The generosity of 
this general and the devotion of his soldiery seemed to vie with each other. 

t During the preceding winter Robert Morris sent to the starving army several 
thousand barrels of flour. He now furnished nearly evei-ything required for this 
expedition, issuing his own notes to the amount of $1,400,000. It is sad to know that 
this patriot, so often the resource of Washington, lost his fortune in his old age, and 
was confined in prison for debt. 

§ Washington, at this time, visited Mount Vernon, which he had not seen since he 
left it to attend the Continental Congress in 1775. Six years and a half had nearly 
elapsed, yet he remained only long enough to fulfill a military engagement. 



140 EPOCH III. [17*1 

south with the continental army.* On the 28th of Septem- 
ber, the joint forces, twelve thousand strong, took up their 
position before Yorktown. Batteries were openedf upon the 
city, and the vessels in the harbor fired by red-hot shells. 
Two redoubts were carried ; one by the Americans, the other 
by the French. The most hearty good-will prevailed. The 
patriots slept in the open air that their allies might use their 
tents. Breaches having been made in the walls, CornwaUis 
saw no hope of escape and capitulated (Oct. 19). 

The Scene of the Surrender was most imposing. The 
army was drawn up in two lines, extending over a mile — the 
Americans on one side with General Washington at the head^ 
and the French on the other with Count Eochambeau 
(ro-shong-bo). The captive army, about seven thousand in 
number, with slow step, shouldered arms, and cased colors, 
marched between them. A prodigious crowd, anxious to see 
CornwaUis, had assembled, but the haughty general, vexed 
and mortified at his defeat, feigned ilhiess, and sent his 
swordj by General O'Hara. 

The Effect. — Both parties felt that this surrender virtu- 
ally ended the war. Joy pervaded every patriot heart. All 
the hardships of the past were forgotten in the thought that 



* Clinton sent Arnold on a pillaging tour into Connecticut in order to force Wash- 
ington to return. He, however, was not to be diverted from his great enterprise, and 
left New England to take care of herself. New London was pillaged and burned, 
Arnold watching the fire from a church steeple. At Fort Griswold, the commander 
and half the garrison were butchered. After this fort had been taken, a British 
oflacer entering asked, "Who commands here ? " "I did," said Colonel Ledyard, as 
he advanced to surrender his sword, " hut you do now." With fiendish malignity, 
the oflcer seized the weapon and thrust it into the bosom of the brave colonel. 

+ Governor Nelson commanded the battery that fired first upon the British. 
Comwaliis and his staff were at that time occupying the governor's fine stone man- 
Bion. The patriot pointed one of his heaviest guns directly toward his house, and 
ordered the gunner to fire upon it with vigor. The British could not make even the 
home of the noble Nelson a shield against his patriotic eflbrts, The house still bears 
the scars of the bombardment. 

X With a fine delicacy of feeling, Washington directed the sword to be delivered to 
General Lincoln, v?lio, eighteen months before, had surrendered at Charleston. 



1781.] THE EEVOLUTIOlSrAET WAE. 



141 




THE SURRENDERED ARMY AT YORKTOWN. 



America was free. The news reached Philadelphia at two 
o'clock A. M. The people were awakened by the watchman's 
cry, "Past two o'clock and Cornwallis is taken." Lights 
flashed through the houses, and soon the streets were 
thronged with crowds eager to learn the glad news. Some 
were speechless with delight. Many wept, and the old 
door-keeper of Congress died of joy. Congress met at an 
early hour, and that afternoon marched in solemn procession 
to the Lutheran church to return thanks to Almighty God. 
All hojoe of subduing America was now abandoned by the 
people of England, and they loudly demanded the removal of 
the ministers who still counselled war, * The House of Com- 



* On Sunday noon, November 25, 1781, the British Cabinet received intelliofeuce 
of the defeat. When Lord North, the prime minister of Great Britain, heard the 
disastrous news, he was greatly excited. With looks and actions indicating the 
deepest distress, he again and again exclaimed, " O God ! it is all over." 



142 EPOCH III. [1781. 

mons voted that whoever advised the king to continue 
hostilities should be considered a public enemy. 

Difficulties of the Country and Army. — The situa- 
tion of the United States at this time was perilous. Com- 
merce had been destroyed by the war. The currency was 
worthless. War had been the main business of the country 
for eight years, and trade, manufactures, and agriculture, had 
been neglected. Villages had been burned, ships destroyed, 
and crops laid waste. The British held Charleston over a 
year, and Savannah and New York about two years after 
the surrender at Yorktown. George III. was obstinate, and 
war might be resumed. Yet the American army was in almost 
open rebellion. The soldiers, afraid they should be disbanded 
and sent home without pay, jDetitioned Congress, but received 
no satisfaction. The treasury was empty. At this crisis 
"Washington was invited to become king. The noble patriot 
was shocked at the proposal, and indignantly spurned it. 
A paper having been circulated advising violent measures, 
Washington addressed* a meeting of the officers, and besought 
them not to mar their fair record of patriotic service by any 
rash proceedings. His influence prevailed, both with the 
army and with Congress, and the difficulties were amicably 
settled. 

Peace Declared. — ^A treaty was signed at Paris (Sep- 
tember 3, 1783) acknowledging the independence of the 
IJnited States. Soon after, the army was disbanded. Wash- 
ington bade his officers an affecting farewell, and retired to 
Mount Vernon, followed by the thanksgiving of a grateful 
people. 

Weakness of the Government. — During the war the 
thirteen States had agreed upon Articles of Confederation, 

* As he rose he took off his spectacles to wipe them, saying, "My eyes have grown 
dim in the service of my country, hut I have never douhted her justice." 



1783.] THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 143 

but they conferred little power on Congress. It could recom- 
mend, but not Enforce ; it could only advise action, leaving 
the States to do as they pleased. Bitter jealousy existed 
among the several States, both with regard to one another and 
to a general government. The pojDular desire was to let each 
State remain independent, and have no national authority. 
A heavy debt had been incurred by the war. Congress had 
no money and could not levy taxes. It advised the States to 
pay, but they were too jealous of Congress to heed its requests. 
''We are," said Washington, ''one nation to-day, and thir- 
teen to-morrow." In New England, large bodies of men 
assembled, refusing to pay their taxes and openly threatening 
to overturn the government. This insurrection, known as 
Shays's Rebellion, from the name of its leader, was put down 
by the militia under General Lincoln. 

Constitution Adopted. — Under these circumstances, 
many of the best men of the land felt the need of a stronger 
national government. A convention was called in Philadel- 
phia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Washington 
was chosen president. After much deliberation,* an entirely 
new constitution was adopted (September 17, 1787). During 
the ensuing year the government was organized under it, and 
in 1789 went into full operation. 

During the next Epoch we shall notice the growth of the 
country under the wise provisions of this constitution. 

* The new constitution met with the most violent opposition. The people were 
divided into two parties— the Federalists and the anti-Federalists. The former 
favored the constitution and sought to increase the powers of the national govern- 
ment, and thus strengthen the Union at home and abroad. The latter wished the 
authority to rest with the States, opposed the constitution, were jealous of Congress, 
and feared too much national power lest a monarchy might be established. The 
nation was agitated by the most earnest and thoughtful as well as the most virulent 
speeches on both sides. Within the year (1T88) nine States had ratified the constitu- 
tion. This was the number necessary to make it binding. Rhode Island was not 
represented in the convention, and did not accept the constitution mitil 1790. 



144 EPOCH III. [1765. 



Summary of the History of the Third Epoch, 
arranged in Chronological Order. 



1765. The Stamp Act passed, March 8, . . . , 

1766. The Stamp Act repealed by Parliament, March 18, . 

1767. A tax imposed on tea, &c., June 29, . 

1768. The British troops arrived at Boston, September 27, 
1770. Boston Massacre, March 5, 

All duties except on tea repealed, April 12, . 

1773. The tea thrown overboard in Boston Harbor, Dec. 16, 

1774. "Boston Port Bill" passed, March 31, 

First Continental Congress met at Philadelphia, Sept 5, 

1775. Battle of Lexington, April 19, 

Ticonderoga taken by Allen and Arnold, May 10, . 

Crown Point taken. May 12, 

Washington elected commander-in-chief, June 15, . 

Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17 

Washington took command of the troops before Boston 

July 2, 

Montreal surrendered to Montgomery, November 13, 
Battle of Quebec — Montgomery killed, December 31, 

1776. Boston evacuated by the British troops under Lord Howe, 

March 17, 

Attack on Fort Moultrie, June 28, .... 

Declaration of Independence, July 4, . 

Battle of Long Island, August 27, 

Battle of White Plains, October 28, . 

Fort Washington taken, November 16, 

Washington's retreat through New Jersey, November 

and December, 
Battle of Trenton, December 26, 

1777. Battle of Princeton, January 3, 
Murder of Miss McCrea, July 27, 
Battle of Bennington, August 16, 
Battle of Brandy wine, September 11, 
First battle of Saratoga, September 19, . 
Philadelphia captured by the British, September 25, 
Battle of Germantown, October 4, . . . . 
Second battle of Saratoga, October 7, . . . 
Surrender of Burgoyne, October 17, . . , . 



1788.] THE EEVOLUTIOJSTAET WAE. 145 



PAGE 



1778. American Independence acknowledged by France, Feb. 6, 126 
Battle of Monmouth, June 38, , 

Massacre of Wyoming, July 3, 

French fleet arrived in Narraganset Bay, July 29, . 
British captured Savannah, Ga. , December 29, 

1779. Stony Point captured by General Wayne, July 15, . 
Sullivan defeated the tories and Indians near Elmira 

N. Y., August 29, 

Paul Jones's victory, September 23, .... 
Savannah besieged by the Americans and the French 

September and October, 

D'Estaing and Lincoln repulsed at Savannah, October 9, 

1780. Charleston surrendered to the British, May 12, 
Battle of Hanging Eock, S. C, August 6, 

Battle of Camden, August 16, 

Andre executed, October 2, 

Battle of King's Mountain, October 7, . . . 

1781. Eichmond burned by Arnold, January 5, 
Battle of the Cowpens, January 17, . 
Greene's celebrated retreat, January and February, 
Battle of Guilford Court House, March 15, . . 
Battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8, . . . 
Surrender of Cornwallis, October 19, ... 

1783. Savannah evacuated by the British, July 11,. 
Treaty of Peace signed at Paris, September 3, . 
New York evacuated by the British, November 25, . 
Washington resigned his commission, December 23, 

1787. Shays's Eebellion in Massachusetts, .* . . . 
Constitution of the United States adopted in Convention 

September 17, 

1788. Constitution adopted by nine States, 



127 
128 
128 
129 
130 

131 
132 

129 
129 
133 
134 
133 
186 
134 

137 
137 
138 
138 
140 
142 
142 

142 
143 

143 
143 



REFERENCES FOR READING. 

Lossing's Field Book of the Revolution. — Spencer's History of the United States. — 
Garden's Anecdotes of the Revolution. — Grace GreenivoocTs Forest Tragedy. — Catnp- 
belfs Gertrude of Wyoming (Poem). — Halleck's Wyoming {Poem). — Simms's Life of 
Marion : also his Series of Historical Tales. — Bryanfs Song of Marion's Men and 
Seventy-Six {Poems). — Magoon' s Orators of American RevoliUion. — Headley's Wash- 
ington and his Generals. — Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry. — G. W. Greene's Historical 
View of American Revolutiott and Life of General Greetie. — Parton's Life of Ben- 
jamin Franklin. — Longfellow' s Paul Revere' s Ride and Pulaski's Banner{Poems). 



146 EPOCH III. 

— Headley's Li/e of La Fayette. — Hawthorne's Ticonderoga (Twice Told Tales). — 
Mrs. Ellefs Women of the Ainerican Revolution. — Watson^ s Camp Fires of the 
Revolution. — Raymond's Women of the South. — Sabine's Loyalists of the American 
Revolution. — Lee's War in the Southern Department. — Drake's American Flag 
(Poem). — Streefs Concord, Bennington, and American Independence (Poetns). — 
Dwighfs Columbia (Poem). — Washington' s Farewell Address. — The Declaration of 
Independence (see Appendix). — Sears' s History of the A^nerican Revolution. — Fre- 
tteau's Poems. — Life of General Joseph Reed, by Wm. B. Reed. — Cooper's tzovels ( The 
Spy, The Pilot, and Lionel Lincoln). — Motley's Horton's Hope and Paulding's Old 
Continental (novel). — Winthrop Sargent's Life of A ndre and Loyalist Poetry of the 
Revolution. — Moore's Songs and Ballads and Diary of the Revolution. — Whittier's 
Rangers (Poem). — Hawthorne's Scptimius Felton (Fiction). — Winthrop' s Edwin 
Brothertoft (Fiction). — Barnes' s Brief History of France. — Barnes' s Popular His- 
tory of United States. — Harper's Magazine, vol. 50, p. 777, Art., The Concord Fight ; 
vol. 51, p. 230, Art., Echoes of Bunker Hill ; vol. 53, p. i, Art., Virginia in the Revo- 
lution : vol. 55,/. 511, Art., Battle of Bennitigton. — Atlantic Monthly, vol. 37, p, 466, 
Art., The Siege of Boston. — Martin's Civil Cover mnent. 

Terkitorial Development of the United States (see Map of Vlth Epoch).-- 
The Treaty with Great Britain (Sept. 3, 1783) fixed the boundaries of the United States 
as the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River, and the Great Lakes. 
From this, however, was to be excluded Florida, which belonged to Spain, and the 
part of Louisiana east of the Mississippi. The Thirteen Colonies occupied only a 
narrow strip along the Atlantic sea-board. Pennsylvania was a frontier State, with 
Pittsburg as an advanced military post. The interior of the continent as far as the 
Mississippi was called the Wilderness. These broad lands belonged to the States 
individually, since the original English grants extended from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific. (See second note, p. 40.) They were finally generously given up to the gen- 
eral government of the young confederacy. (See second note, p. IW, and article on 
Public Lands, Harper^s Magazine, vol. 42, p. 219.) In 1787, the great region north of 
the Ohio was organized into the Northwestern Territory. (See notes, p. 201.) This 
was slowly settled. As late as 1819 even the Territory of Michigan was thought to be 
a " worthless waste." The Province of Louisiana was purchased of France in 1803 
(p. 156). Little was known of the country thus acquired, and that same year it was 
said, " The Missouri has been navigated for 2500 miles ; there appears a probability 
of a communication by this cfiannel with the Western Ocean." The famous expedi- 
tion under the command of Captains Lewis and Clarke (see Barnes's Popular History 
of United States, p. 860) in 180i-5, gave the first accurate information concerning this 
Tast territory. Florida was purchased of Spain (p. 173) by a treaty proposed Feb. 22, 
1819, though not signed by the King of Spain until Oct. 20, 1820, while the United 
States did not obtain full possession before July 17, 1821. (These facts account for the 
dififerent dates assigned to this purchase in the various histories.) The treaty with 
Spain which secured Florida, also relinquished all Spanish authority over the region 
west of the Rocky Mountains, claimed by the United States as belonging to tlie Louisiana 
purchase, but not jyreviously acknowledged by Spain. This is of special importance, 
since many maps giving the Spanisli version, extend Louisiana only to the Rocky 
Mountains (the map of the Vlth Epoch is based on the one in the United States Cen- 
sus of 1870). In the beginning of the war of 1812, a strip of coast about fifty miles 
wide, lying between Florida and Louisiana, considered by Spain as a part of Florida, 
had been taken by the United States under the claim that it also belonged to the 
Louisiana purchase. Texas was annexed in 1845 (p. 205, and also Scribner's Maga- 
zine, vol. 16, p. 868). The Mexican cession of 1848 gave the United States California 
and several other States (p. 206-8). Alaska, the latest acquisition, was purchased in 
1867. 



ngiiude ^-/j «^ Irom So i' Washington VVeot 

. ^ y^\ i ' f MAP TO ILL 



LUSTRA 

WAR WITH MEX; 

SCALE Op MILES 




ROUTE OF GEN.SCOTjT BETWEEN VERA CRUZ AND MEXICOl l West Lon g ituJe from Greenwich 9t 



Jatab WtlU, XM. 



Copyriffhf, 1S79, < 




B^irnes <& Co., New York. 



Ev^seU ^ St-rutlitTB^hig't JV. Y, 



Epoch IV. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 



From 1787 — the Adoption of the Constitution, 
To 1861— the Breaking Out of the Civil War. 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

(FIRST PRESIDENT— TWO TERMS: 1789-1797.) 

ASHINGTON'S Inaugura- 
tion (April 30, 1789).— In the 
choice of the first President of 
the United States, all hearts 
turned instinctively to Wash- 
ington. With deep regret, he 
left his quiet home at Mount 
Vernon for the tumults of 
political life. His journey to 
New York was a continual 
ovation. Crowds of gayly- 
- dressed people bearing baskets 
and garlands of flowers, and hailing his appearance with 

Questions on Ihe Geoffrajihy of the Fourth Epoch. — Names of places in 
italic letters may be found on map, Epoch VI. Locate New York. Philadelphia. 
Baltimore. Boston. Washington. Detroit. York. St. Johns. Montreal. Platts- 
burg. Fort Schlosser. Sackett's Harbor. Frenchtown. Chippewa. Stonington. 
New Orleans. Charleston. Sacramento. San Francisco. Palmyra. Santa F6. 
Nauvoo. Mount Vernon. Queenstown Heights. Chrysler's Field. Horseshoe Bend. 
Lundy's Lane. 

Locate Fort Maiden. Fort Erie. Fort Meigs. Fort St^henson. Fort Mimms. 
(Mims). Port McHenry. Fort King. Fort Brown. 

Describe the Maiimee River. Hudson River. Tippecanoe River. Niagara River. 
St. Lawrence River. Raisin River. Thames River. Columbia River. Rio Grande 
Kiver. Nueces River. Locate Sandusky Bay. Lake Champlain. Tampa Bay. 

Locate Palo Alto. Point Isabel. Resaca de la Palma. Matamoras. Monterey. 
Buena Vista. Vera Cruz. Puebla. Cerro Gordo. The Cordilleras. ContreraSi 
Mexico. Ci^a. Havana. 




150 EPOCH IV. [1789- 

shouts of joy, met him at every village. On the balcony of 
old Federal Hall, New York City,* he took the oath to sup- 
port the Constitution of the United States. f 

* New York was only temporarily the capital. At the second session of Congress 
the seat of government was transferred to Philadelphia, where it was to remain for 
ten years, and then (1800) be removed to the District of Columbia, a tract of land ten 
miles square ceded for this purpose by Maryland and Virginia. Here a city was laid 
out in the midst of a wilderness, containing only here and there a small cottage. In 
1800 it had eight thousand inhabitants. The " Father of his country" laid the corner- 
stone of the capitol (179.3). The part of this District on the Virginia side of the Poto- 
mac was (1846) ceded back to that State. 

+ George Washington was bom February 22, 1732 ; died December 14, 1799. Left 
fatherless at eleven years of age, his education was directed by his mother, a woman 
of strong character, who kindly, but firmly, exacted the most implicit obedience. Of 
her, Washington learned his first lessons in self-command. Although bashful and 
hesitating in his speech, his language was clear and manly. Having compiled a code 
of morals and good manners for his own use, he rigidly observed all its quaint and 
formal rules. Before his thirteenth year he had copied forms for all kinds of legal 
and mercantile papers. His manuscript school-books, which still exist, are models 
of neatness and accuracy. His favorite amusements were of a military character ; he 
made soldiers of his playmates, and officered all the mock parades. Grave, diffident, 
thoughtful, methodical, and strictly honorable, such was Washington in his youth. 
He inherited great wealth, and the antiquity of his family gave him high social rank. 
On his Potomac farms he had hundreds of slaves, and at his Mount Vernon home he 
was like the prince of a wide domain, free from dependence or restraint. He was 
fond of equipage and the appurtenances of high life, and although he always rode on 
horseback, his family had a " chariot and four," with " black postilions in scarlet and 
white livery." This generous style of living, added perhaps to his native reserve, 
exposed him to the charge of aristocratic feeling. While at his home, he spent much 
of his time in riding and hunting. He rose early, ate his breakfast of corn-cake, 
honey, and tea, and then rode about his estates; his evenings he passed with his 
family around the blazing hearth, retiring between nine and ten. He loved to linger 
at the table, cracking nuts and relating his adventures. In personal appearance, 
Washington was over six feet in height, robust, graceful, and perfectly erect. His 
manner was formal and dignified. He was more solid than brilliant, and had more 
judgment than genius. He had great dread of public life, cared little for books, and 
possessed no library. A consistent Christian, he was a regular attendant and com- 
municant of the Episcopal Church. A firm advocate of free institutions, he stiU 
believed in a strong government and strictly enforced laws. As President, he care- 
fully weighed his decisions, but, his poUcy once settled, pursued it with steadiness 
and dignity, however great the opposition. As an officer, he was brave, enterprising, 
and cautious. His campaigns were rarely startling, but always judicious. He was 
capable of great endurance. Calm in defeat, sober in victory, commanding at all 
times, and irresistible when aroused, he exercised equal authority over himself and 
his army. His last illness was brief, and his closing hours were marked by his usual 
calmness and dignity. " I die hard," said he, " but I am not afraid to go." Europe 
and America vied in tributes to his memory. Said Lord Brougham, " Until time shall 
be no more, a test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and virtue will 
be derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of Washington." Wash- 
ington left no children. It has been beautifully said, " Providence left him childless 
tl)jht his country might call him Father." 



1789.] WASHINGTON'S A DMIKISTR ATIOK, 



151 



Difficulties beset the new government on every hand. 
The treasury was empty, and the United States had no credit. 
The Indians were hostile. Pirates from the Barbary States 
attacked our ships, and American citizens were languishing in 
Algerine dungeons. Spain refused us the navigation of the 
Mississippi. England had not yet condescended to send a 




RANDOLPH 



HAMILTON, WASHINGTON, 



Washington's cabinet.* 

minister to our government, and had made no treaty of com- 
merce with us. We shall see how wisely Washington and his 
cabinet met these difficulties. 

Domestic Affairs. — Finances. — By the advice of Alex- 
ander Hamilton, secretary of the treasury, Congress agreed to 
assume the debts contracted by the States during the Eevolu- 

* Three executive departments were now established— the Department of Foreign 
Affairs (now the Department of State), the Department of War, and the Department 
of the Treasury. The heads of these departments were called Secretaries, and, with 
the Attorney-General, formed the President's cabinet. 




152 EPOCH IV. [1790- 

tion, and to pay the national debt in full. To provide funds, 
taxes were levied on imported goods and the distillation of 
spirits. A mint and a national bank were established at 
Philadelphia. By these measures the credit of the United 
States was put upon a firm basis. * 

Whisky Rehellioyi (1794). — Great opposition was made to 
raising money by taxation. In western Pennsylvania it was 
agreed that no tax should be paid on whisky. The rioters 
were so numerous and so thoroughly 
organized that fifteen thousand of the 
militia were ordered out to subdue them. 
Finding the government in earnest, 
the malcontents laid down their arms. 
Indian Wars. — Two armies sent 
against the Indians of the northwest 
were defeated. At last General Wayne 
— "Mad Anthony" — was put in com- 
mand. Little Turtle, the Indian chief, now advised peace, 
declaring that the Americans had " a leader who never slept." 
But his counsel was rejected, and a desperate battle was 
fought on the Maumee (Aug. 20, 1794). Wayne routed the 
Indians, chased them a great distance, laid waste their towns 
for fifty miles, and at last compelled them to make a treatyf 
whereby they gave up all of what is now Oliio and part of 
Indiana. 

Foreign Affairs. — England. — Hardly had the war closed 
when complaints were made in England that debts could not 
be collected in America. On the other hand the Americans 
charged that the British armies had carried off their negroes, 

* The credit of these plans belongs to Hamilton. Daniel Webster has eloquently 
eaid of him, " He smote the rock of the national resources, and abundant streams of 
revenue burst forth. He touched the dead corpse of public credit, and it sprang upon 
Its feet." 

t He told them, it is said, that if they ever violated this agreement he would rise 
from hi" grave to fight them. He was Ion? remembered by the western Indians. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



I794-] WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 153 

that posts were still held on the frontier, and that our seamen 
were impressed. Chief Justice Jay was sent as envoy extra- 
ordinary to England. He negotiated a treaty, which was rati- 
fied by the Senate (1795), after yiolent opposition.* 

Spain and Algiers. — The same year a treaty was made with 
Spain, securing to the United States the free navigation of the 
Mississippi, and fixing the boundary of Florida, still held by 
that nation. Just before this, a treaty had been concluded 
with Algiers, by which our captives were released and the 
Mediterranean commerce was opened to American vessels. 

France. — The Americans warmly sympathized with France, 
and when war broke out between that country and England, 
Washington had great difficulty in preserving neutrality. He 
saw that the true American policy was to keep free from all 
European alliances. Genet (je-na), the French minister, 
relying on the popular feeling, went so far as to fit out, in 
the ports of the United States, privateers to prey on British 
commerce. He also tried to arouse the people against the 
government. At length, at Washington's request, Genet 
was recalled. But, as we shall see, the difficulty did not end. 

Political Parties. — During the discussion of these various 
questions two parties had arisen. Jefferson, Madison, and Ran- 
dolphf became leaders of the republican party, which opposed 
the United States Bank, the English treaty, and the assumj)- 
tion of the State debts. Hamilton and Adams were the leaders 

* This treaty enforced the payment of the English dehts, but did not in turn forbid 
the impressment of American seamen. Its advocates were threatened with personal 
violence by an^y mobs. Hamilton was stoned at a public meeting. Insults were 
offered to the British minister, and Jay was burned in effigy. The more quiet people 
expressed their indignation by passing resolutions condemning the action of the 
Senate. 

t John Randolph of Roanoke was not prominent in the republican party until a 
later administration, beini; elected representative in 1799. He was a descendant of 
Pocahontas, of which fact he often boasted, and was noted for his keen retorts, 
reckless wit, and skill in debate. His tall, slender, and cadaverous form, his shrill 
and piping voice, and his long, skinny fingers— pointing toward the object of hia 
invective— made him a conspicuous speaker. For thirty yeare, says Benton, he was 
the " political meteor " of Congress. 



154 EPOCH IV. [1796. 

of the federalist party, which supported the administration. * 
Washington having dechned to serve a third term, now issued 
his famous farewell address. So close was the contest between 
the rival parties that Adams, the federalist candidate, was 
elected President by a majority of only two electoral votes 
over Jefferson, the republican nominee. 



ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION.f 

(SECOND PRESIDENT: 1797-1801.) 

Domestic Affairs. — Alien and Sedition Laws. — Owing 
to the violent denunciations of the government by the friends 
and emissaries of France, the alien and sedition laws were 
passed. Under the former, the President could expel from the, 
country any foreigner whom he deemed injurious to the 
United States ; under the latter, any one libelling Congress, 

* The federalists favored the granting of power to the general government, whicli 
they thought should be made strong. The republicans, fearing lest the republic 
should become a monarchy and the President a king, opposed this idea and advo- 
cated State rights. In this election the republicans were accused of being friends 
of France, and the federalists of being attached to Great Britain and its institutions. 
The republicans declared themselves to be the only true friends of the people, and 
stigmatized all others as aristocrats and monarchists. 

+ John Adams was born 1735 ; died 1826. He was a member of the first and the 
second Congress, and nominated Washington as commander-in-chief. Jefferson 
wrote the Declaration of Independence, but Adams secured its adoption in a three- 
days debate. He was a tireless worker, and had the reputation of having the 
clearest head and firmest heart of any man in Congress. In his position as President 
he lost the reputation he had gained as Congressman. His enemies accused him of 
being a bad judge of men, of clinging to old unpopular notions, and of having little 
control over his temper. They also ridiculed his egotism, which they declared to be 
inordinate. He lived, however, to see the prejudice against his administration give 
place to a juster estimate of his great worth and exalted integrity. As a dele- 
gate to the Constitutional Convention he was honored as one of the fathers of the 
republic. Adams and Jctferson were firm friends during the Revolution, but political 
strife alienated them. On their return to private life they became reconciled. They 
died on the same day— the fiftieth anniversary of American independence. Adams's 
last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives." Jefferson was, however, already 
lying dead in his Virginia home. Thus, by the passing away of these two remArkabls 
men, was made memorable the 4th of July, 1826. 



1798.] JEFFERSON'S ADMIKISTR ATIO N. 155 

the President, or the government, could be fined or impris- 
oned. This was a most unpopular measure, and excited the 
bitterest feeling. 

Foreign Affairs. — France. — French affairs early assumed 
a serious aspect. Our flag was insulted, our vessels were cap- 
tured, and our envoys were refused audience by the French 
Directory unless a bribe should be paid.* The news of this 
insult aroused the nation, and the friends of France were 
silenced. Orders were issued to raise an army, of which 
Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. Hostilities 
had commenced on the sea, when Napoleon became the First 
Consul of France and the war was happily arrested. 

Political Parties. — An intense party feeling prevailed 
during the entire administration. The unpopularity of the 
alien and sedition laws, especially, reduced the vote for 
Adams, the federal candidate for re-election, and the republi- 
can nominee, Jefferson, became the next President. 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION.f " 

(THIRD PRESIDENT— TWO TERMS: 1801-1809.) 

Domestic Affairs. — Purchase of Louisiana (1803). — 
The most important event of Jefferson's administration was 

* Charles C. Pinckney— our enroy to France— is reported to have indignantly re- 
plied, *' Millions for defence, but not one cent for tribute." 

t Thomas Jefferson was bom 1743 ; died 1826. " Of all the public men who have 
figured in the United States," says Parton, " he veas incomparably the best scholar 
and the most variously accomplished man." He was a bold horseman, a skilful 
hunter, an elegant penman, a fine violinist, a brilliant talker, a superior classical 
scholar, and a proficient in the modern languages. On account of his talents he was 
styled " The Sage of Monticello." That immortal document, the Declaration of In- 
dependence, was, with the exception of a few words, entirely his work. He was an 
ardent supporter of the doctrine of State rights, and led the opposition to the feder- 
alists. After he became President, however, he found the difiiculty of administering 
the government upon that theory. " The executive authority had to be stretched 



156 EPOCH IV. [1803. 

the purchase of Louisiana from Napoleon. * Oyer one million 
square miles of land and the full possession of the Mississippi 
were obtained for $15,000,000 (see map, Vlth Epoch). 

Aaron Burr, the Vice-President, was Alexander Hamilton's 
bitter rival, both m law and in politics, and at last challenged 
him to a duel. Hamilton accepted. The affair took place at 
Weehawken (July 11, 1804). Hamilton fell at the first fire, 
on the very spot where his eldest son had been killed shortly 
before, in the same manner. His death produced the most 
profound sensation. Burr afterward went west and organized 
an expedition with the avowed object of forming a settlement 
in northern Mexico. Being suspected, however, of a design 
to break up the Union and found a separate confederacy 
beyond the Alleghanies, he was arrested and tried (1807) on 
a charge of treason, f Although acquitted for want of proof, 
he yet remained an outcast. J 



until it cracked, to cover the purchase of Louisiana ; " and he became convinced on 
other occasions that the federal government, to use his own expression, must 
" show its teeth." Like Washington, he was of aristocratic birth, but his prin- 
ciples were intensely democratic. He hated ceremonies and titles ; even " Mr." 
was distasteful to him. These traits were the more remarkable in one of his superior 
birth and education, and peculiarly endeared him to the common people. Coming 
into power on a wave of popularity, he studiously sought to retain this favor. There 
were no more brilliant levees or courtly ceremonies as in the days of Washington 
and Adams. On his inauguration day he dressed in plain clothes, rode unattended 
down to Congress, dismounted, hitched his horse, and went into the chamber to 
read his fifteen-minutes inaugural. Some of the sentences of that short but memo- 
rable address have passed into proverbs. The unostentatious example thus set by 
the nation's President was wise in its effects. Soon the public debt was diminished, 
the treasury was replenished, and the army and navy were reduced. A man of such 
marked character necessarily made bitter enemies, but Jefierson commanded the 
respect of even his opponents, while the admiration of his friends was unbounded. 
The last seventeen years of his life were passed at Monticello, near the place of his 
birth. By his profuse hospitality, he had, long before his death, spent his vast 
estates. He died poor in money, but rich in honor. His last words were, " This is 
the fourth day of .July." 

* This territory (p. 90) was ceded back to France in 1800. Prom it we have since 
carved five States, four Territories, and parts of three States and three Territories. 

t While awaiting his trial. Burr was committed to the common jail. There, among 
its wretched inmates, stripped of all his honors, lay the man who once lacked but a 
single vote to make him President of the United States. 

% Closely connected with Burr's conspiracy is the romantic story of Blennerbassett 




THE FIRST STEAMBOAT. 



1807.] JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 157 

Fulton's Stemnboat. — The year 1807 was made memorable 
by the voyage from -^ 

New York to Albany h^^^^%_ \ 

of Robert Fulton's 
steamboat, the Cler- 
mont. For years the 
Hudson could boast of 
having the only steam- 
boat in the world. 

Foreign Affairs. — 
War with Tripoli. — The Barbary States, of which Tripoli 
is one, for many years sent out cruisers which captured 
vessels of all Christian nations, and held their crews as slaves 
until ransomed. The United States, like the European 
nations, was accustomed to pay annual tribute to these pirates 
to secure exemption from their attacks. The Bashaw of 
Tripoli became so haughty that he declared war (1801) 
against the United States. Jefferson sent a fleet which block- 
aded* the port and repeatedly bombarded the city of TripoU. 
The frightened Bashaw was at last glad to make peace. 

England and France. — During this time England and 
France were engaged in a desperate struggle. England tried 
to prevent trade with France, and, in turn, Napoleon forbade 
all commerce with England. As the United States were 
neutral, they did most of the carrying trade of Europe. Our 

and his beautiful wife. Having settled on an island in the Ohio River, they had 
transformed the wilderness into a garden of beauty, and every luxury and rcflnement 
which wealth or culture could procure clustered about their homes. Into this para- 
dise came Burr, winning their confidence, and engaging them in his plans. On his 
downfall, Blennerhassett was arrested. When finally acquitted, everything had been 
sold, the grounds turned into a hemp-field, and the mansion into a store-house. 

* During this blockade a valiant exploit was performed by Lieutenant Decatur. 
The frigate Philadelphia had unfortunately grounded and fallen into the enemy's 
hands. Concealing his men below, he entered the harbor with a small vessel, which 
he warped alongside the Philadelphia, in the character of a ship in distress. As the 
two vessels struck, the pirates first suspected his design. Instantly he leaped 
aboard with his men, swept the affrighted crew into the sea, set the ship on fire, and 
amid a tremendous cannonade from the shore, escaped without losing a man. 



158 



EPOCH IV. 



[1807. 



vessels thus became the prey of both the hostile nations. Be- 
sides, England claimed the right of stopping American vessels 
on the high seas, to search for seamen of English birth,* and 
press them into the British navy. The f eehng, abeady deep, 
was intensified when the British frigate Leopard fired into 
the American frigate Chesapeake, ofE the coast of Virginia. 




MONTICELLO, THE HOME OF JEFFERSON. 

The American vessel, being wholly unprepared for battle, soon 
struck her colors. Four of the crew, three being Americans 
by birth, were taken, on the pretence that they were deserters. 
Jefferson immediately ordered all British vessels of war to 
quit the waters of the United 'States. ' Though England dis- 
avowed the act, no re]oaration was made. An embargo was 
then laid by Congress on American vessels, forbidding them 
to leave port. This was so injurious to our commerce that 
it was removed, but all intercourse either with England or 
France was forbidden. 

* The American doctrine was that a foreigner naturalized became an American 
citizen; the British, " Once an Englishman, always an Englishman," 



l809.] MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 159 

Political Parties. — While the country was in this feverish 
state, Jefferson's second term expired, James Madison, the 
republican candidate, who was closely in sympathy with his 
views, was elected as his successor by a large majority. The 
republicans were generally in favor of a war with England. 
The federalists, however, were a strong minority, and 
throughout this administration bitterly opposed the war 
policy of the republicans. 



MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(FOURTH PRESIDENT-TWO TERMS: 1809-1817.) 

Domestic Affairs. — Battle of Tippecanoe (November 7, 
1811). — British emissaries had been busy arousing the Indians 
to war. Tecumseh, a famous chief, seized the opportunity 
to form a confederacy of the northwestern tribes. General 
Harrison having been sent against them with a strong force, 
was treacherously attacked by night near the Tippecanoe. 
The Indians, however, were routed with great slaughter. 

* James Madison was born in Virginia in 1751 ; died 1836. Entering Congress in 
1789, he became one of the strongest advocates of the Constitution, and did much to 
secure its adoption. From his political principles he was obliged, though reluc- 
tantly, to oppose Washington's administration, which he did in a courteous and 
temperate manner. He led his party in Congress, where he remained till 1797. The 
next year he drafted the famous " 1798-99 Resolutions," enunciating the doctrine of 
State rights, which, with the accompanying " Report" in their defence, have been 
the great text-book of the democratic party. He was Secretary of State to Jefferson. 
After his Presidential services, he retired from public station. Madison's success 
was not so much the result of a great national ability as of intense application and 
severe accuracy. His mind was strong, clear, and well-balanced, and his memory 
was wonderful. Like John Quincy Adams, he had laid up a great store of learning, 
which he used in the most skilful manner. He always exhausted the subject upon 
which he spoke. " When be had finished, nothing remained to be said." His 
private character was spotless. His manner was simple, modest, and uniformly 
courteous to his opponents. He enjoyed wit and humor, and told a story admirably. 
His sunny temper remained with him to the last. Some friends coming to visit him 
during his final illness, he sank smilingly back on his couch, saying : " I always talk 
better when I lie." It has been said of him ; " It was his rare good fortune to have 
a whole nation for his friends." 



160 EPOCH IV. [1812. 

Foreign Afifairs. — England. — This war greatly aroused 
the people of the West against England. The impressment 
of our seamen and the capture of our ships continued. The 
British government went so far as to send war vessels into our 
waters to seize our ships as prizes. The American frigate 
President having hailed the British sloop-of-war Little Belt, 
received a cannon-shot in reply. The fire was returned, and 
the sloop soon disabled ; a civil answer was then returned. 
The British government refusing to relinquish its offensive 
course, all hope of peace was abandoned.* Finally (June 
19th, 1813), war was formally declared against Great Britain. 

SECOND WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, 

1813-14. 

Surrender of Detroit (August 16). — As in the previous 
wars, it was determined to invade Canada. General William 
Hull accordingly crossed over from Detroit and encamped 
on Canadian soil. While preparing to attack Fort Maiden 
(maul-den), he learned that the enemy were gathering in 
great force, and had already captured Fort Mackinaw. He, 
therefore, retreated to Detroit. The British under General 
Brock and the Indians under Tecumseh followed thither, 
and landing, advanced at once to assault the fort at that 
place. The garrison was in line, and the gunners were 
standing with lighted matches awaiting the order to fire, 
when Hull, apparently unnerved by the fear of bloodshed, 
ordered the white flag — a table-cloth — to be raised. Amid 
the tears of his men, it is said, and without even stipulating 
for the honors of war, he surrendered not only Detroit, with 
its garrison and stores, but the whole of Michigan. 

* Madison, whose disposition was very pacific, hesitated so long, that one of th« 
federalists declared in Congress that " he could not be kicked into a fight." This 
expression passed into a proverb. 




nty I. 

BRITISH ATTACK 

ON BALTIMORE, WASHINGTON, ETC. 



160* 







Molina-^fc MEXlCO'ii „ 
Contrtra6 ^ — ^iY''iwrw^ii«fo -" 

CITY OF MEXICO "'-%:'''i^ 

160** 



r8i2.] WAR OF 1813-14. 161 

Battle of Queenstown Heights (October 13).— Late 
in summer, another attempt was made to invade Canada. 
General Van Kensselaer (ren'-se-ler) finding that his men 
were eager for a fight, sent a smaU body across the Niagara 
Eiver to attack the British at Queenstown Heights. The Eng- 
hsh were driven from their position, and General Brock was 
killed. General Van Rensselaer now returned to the Ameri- 
can shore to bring over the rest of the army ; but the militia 
denying the constitutional right of their commander to take 
them out of the State, refused to embark. Meantime their 
comrades on the Canadian shore, thus basely abandoned, 
after a desperate struggle, were compelled to surrender. 

Naval Victories.— These signal disgraces by land were in 
striking contrast to the successes on the sea. 

Constitution and Guerriere (August 19).— The fight off the 
coast of Massachusetts, between the American frigate Consti- 
tution (popularly called Old Ironsides) and the Guerriere 
(gare-e-are) is memorable. The latter vessel opened fire first. 
Captain Isaac Hull* refused to answer until he had brought 
liis ship into the exact position he desired, when he poured 
broadside after broadside into his antagonist, sweeping her 
deck, shattering her hull, and cutting her masts and rigging 
to pieces. The Guerriere soon became unmanageable, and 
was forced to surrender, f She was so badly injured that she 

* Nephew of General Hull. His bravery retrieved the name from its disgrace. 

t " Captain Hull sent an officer to take possession of the Guerriere. When he 
arrived alongside, he demanded of the commander of the English frigate if he had 
struck Dacres was extremely reluctant to make this concession m plain terms, 
but with a shrewdness which would have done honor to a Yankee, endeavored to 
evade the question. ' I do not know that it would be prudent to continue the en- 
ea-ement any longer,' said he. ' Do I understand you to say that you have struck ? 
inquired the American lieutenant. ' Not precisely,' returned Dacres ; ' but I don t 
kiiow that it will be worth while to fight any longer.' ' If you cannot decide, I will 
return aboard,' replied the Yankee, ' and we will resume the engagement.' W hy, 
I am pretty much hors de combat already,' said Dacres ; ' I have hardly men enough 
left to work a o-un, and my ship is in a sinking condition.' ' I wish to know, sir, 
peremptorily demanded the American officer, ' whether I am to consider yoa as a 



162 



EPOCH IV. 



[l8l2. 



could not be brought into port ; while the Old Ironsides, in 
a few hours, was ready for another fight. 

Frolic and Wasp (October 13). — The next noted achieve- 
ment was tlie defeat of the English brig Frolic by the sloop- 
of-war Wasp, off the coast of North Carolina. When the 




CAPTiniE OF THE FROLIC. 



former was boarded by her captors, her colors were still flying, 
there being no one to haul them down. The man at the 
helm was the only sailor left on deck unharmed. 

Other victories followed. Privateers scoured every sea, 
inflicting untold injury on the British commerce. During 
the year over three hundred prizes were captured. 



prisoner of war or an enemy. I have no time for further parley.' ' I believe there is 
now no alternative. If I could light longer, I would with pleasure; hut I— must — 
sarrender— myself— a prisoner of war / ' " 



I8i3.] WAR OF 1812-14. 163 

Tlie Effect of these Naval Victories was to arouse enthu- 
siasm and inspire confidence. Volunteer corps were rapidly 
formed. Madison was re-elected, thus stamping his war 
policy with the popular approval. 

1813. 

Flan of the Campaign. — Three armies were raised : 
(1) the Army of the Centre, under General Dearborn, on the 
Niagara River ; (2) the Army of the North, under General 
Hampton, along Lake Ohamplain ; and (3) the Army of the 
West, under General Harrison, of Tippecanoe fame. All three 
were ultimately to invade Canada. Proctor was the British 
general, and Tecumseh had command of his Indian allies. 

The Annies of the Centre and North did but little. 
General Dearborn* attacked York, General Pike gallantly lead- 
ing the assault. Unfortunately, in the moment of success the 
magazine blew up, killing Pike and making sad havoc among 
his men. Dearborn did nothing, and soon after resigned. 
General Wilkinson, his successor, was directed to descend the 
St. Lawrence in boats, and Join General Hampton in an at- 
tack on Montreal. At Chrysler's Field he repulsed the Brit- 
ish, but owing to a disagreement with General Hampton he 
returned. (Map opp, p. 160.) General Hampton went north 
as far as St. John's, where he was defeated by the British. 
He then made the best of his way back to Plattsburg, where, 
in the winter, he was joined by General Winchester's men. 
Thus ingloriously ended the campaign of these two armies. 

Anny of the West. — A detachment of General Harri- 
son's men was captured f at Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, 

* When the British heard that Dearborn had sailed away from Sackett's Harbor 
with the fleet, they immediately made an attack on that place. They were bravely 
repulsed by General Brown and a few regulars. 

t This party was stationed on the Maumee, under General Winchester. Having 



164 EPOCH IV. [1813. 

by Proctor, who then besieged Harrison himself at Fort 
Meigs (megz). Kepulsed here. Proctor stormed Fort Ste- 
phenson, garrisoned by only one hundred and fifty men 
under Major Croghan, a young man of twenty-one. Beaten 
again, he returned to Maiden. As yet, however, the British 
held Michigan and threatened Ohio, and the Americans had 
been as unsuccessful this year as they were the preceding, 
when a glorious triumph on Lake Erie gave a new aspect to 
the campaign. 

Perry's Victory (September 10). — When Captain Perry, 
then only twenty-seven years old, was assigned the command 
of the flotilla on Lake Erie, the British were undisputed 
masters of the lake, while his fleet was to be, in part, made 
out of the trees in the forest. By indefatigable exertion he 
got nine vessels, carrying fifty-four guns, ready for action, 
when the British fleet of six vessels and sixty-three guns 
bore down upon his little squadron. * Perry's flag-ship, the 
Lawrence, f engaged two of the heaviest vessels of the enemy, 
and fought them till but eight of his men were left. He 
helped these to fire the last gun, and then leaping into a boat 

learned that the people of Frenchtown feared an attack from the Indians, he allowed 
his military judgment to yield to his humanity, and marched to their relief. He de- 
feated the enemy, hut was soon attacked by a body of fifteen hundred British and 
Indians under Proctor. Winchester, being captured in the course of the battle, agreed 
to the surrender of his men under the solemn promise that their lives and property 
should be safe. Proctor, however, immediately returned to Maiden with the British, 
leaving no guard over the American wounded. Thereupon the Indians, maddened by 
liquor and the desire for revenge, mercilessly tomahawked many, set fire to the houses 
in which others lay, and carried the survivors to Detroit, where they were dragged 
through the streets and ofiered for sale at the doors of the inhabitants. Many of the 
■women of that place gave for their ransom every article of value which they possessed. 
The troops were Kentuckians, and the war-cry of their sons was henceforth " Re- 
member the Haisin."— The great object of the Indians in battle was to get scalps. 
Proctor paying a regular bounty for everyone. They were therefore, loth, to -take 
prisoners. Proctor, brutal and haughty, was a fit leader under a government that 
would employ savages in a civilized warfare. 

* Perry had never seen a naval battle, while Captain Barclay, the British com- 
mander, was one of Nelson's veterans, and had lost an arm in the service. 

t From its mast-head floated a blue pennant, bearing the words of the dying Law- 
rence, " Don't sive up the ship." (See p. 166.) 



i8l3.] WAR OF 1812-14. 165 

bore his flag to the Niagara. He had to pass within pistol- 
shot of the British, who turned their guns directly upon 
him ; and though he was a fair mark for every shot, he 
escaped without injury. Breaking through the enemy's Hne, 
and firing right and left, within fifteen minutes after he 
mounted the deck of the Niagara the victory was won. 
Perry at once wrote to General Harrison, " We have met the 
enemy, and they are ours." This laconic despatch produced 
intense excitement throughout tlie country. Upon the re- 
sult of this battle depended, as we shall see, important issues. 

Battle of the Thames. — Proctor and Tecumseh were at 
Maiden with their motley array of British and Indians, two 
thousand strong, waiting to lay waste the frontier. Harrison, 
at Sandusky Bay, was nearly ready to invade Canada, and at 
the news of this victory pushed across the lake. Landing at 
Maiden, which he found deserted, Harrison hotly pursued the 
flying enemy and overtook them on the River Thames (temz). 
Having drawn up his troops, he ordered Colonel Johnson, 
with his Kentucky horsemen, to charge the English in front. 
Dashing through the forest, they broke the enemy's line, and 
forming in their rear, prepared to pour in a deadly fire. The 
British surrendered, but Proctor escaped by the swiftness of 
his horse. Johnson then pushed forward to attack the In- 
dians. Jn the heat of the action, a bullet, said to have been 
fired by Johnson himself, struck Tecumseh. With his death 
the savages lost all hope, and fled in confusion. *» 

Effect. — This victory, with Perry's, relieved Michigan, gave 
control of Lake Erie, and virtually decided the war. Gen- 
eral Harrison returned amid the plaudits of the nation. 

Naval Battles. — The American navy achieved some 
brilliant successes during the year, but was not uniformly 
victorious. 

Chesapeake and Shannon. — Captain Lawrence, of the 



166 EPOCH IV. [1813. 

Hornet, having captured the British brig Peacock, on his 
return was placed in command of the Chesapeake, the ill- 
starred frigate which struck her flag to the Leopard off the 
coast of Virginia. While refitting his vessel at Boston, a 
challenge was sent him to fight the Shannon, then lying off 
the harbor. Lawrence, although part of his crew were dis- 
charged, and the unpaid remainder were almost mutinous, 
consulted only his own heroic spirit, and at once put to sea. 
The action was brief. A hand-grenade bursting in the Chesa- 
peake's arm-chest, the enemy took advantage of the confusion, 
and boarded the vessel. A scene of carnage ensued. Law- 
rence, mortally wounded, was carried below. As he left the 
deck he exclaimed, " DoTi't give up the ship." But the feeble 
crew were soon overpowered, and the colors hauled down. 

War with the Creeks. — Tecumseh had been (1811) 
among the Alabama Indians, and had aroused them to take 
up arms against the Americans. They accordingly formed a 
league (1813), and fell upon Fort Miimns, massacring the 
garrison and the defenceless women and children. (Map 
opp. p. 160.) Volunteers flocked in from all sides to avenge 
this horrid deed. Under General Jackson they drove the 
Indians from one place to another, until they took refuge on 
the Horseshoe Bend, where they fortified themselves for the 
last battle* (March 27, 1814). The soldiers, with fixed 
bayonets, scaled their breastwork. The Creeks fought with 
the energy of despair, but six hundred of their number were 
killed, and those who escaped were glad to make peace on 
any terms. 

Ravages on the Atlantic Coast. — Early in the spring 

* An event occurred on Jackson's march which ilhistrates his iron will. For a 
long time his soldiers suffered extremely from famine, and at last they mutinied. 
General Jackson rode before the ranks. His left arm, shattered by a ball, was dis- 
abled, but in his right he held a musket. Sternly ordering the men back to their 
places, he declared he would shoot the first who advanced. No one stirred, and soon 
all returned to their duty. 



i8i4.J 



WAR OF 1812-14. 



167 



the British commenced devastating the southern coast.* 
Admiral Cockburn, especially, disgraced the British navy by 
conduct worse than that of Cornwallis in the Revolution. 
Along the Virginia and Carolina coast he burned bridges, 
farm-houses, and villages ; robbed the inhabitants of their 
crops, stock, and slaves ; plundered churches of their com- 
munion services, and murdered the sick in their beds. 




MILLER AT LUNDY's LANE. 



I8I4. 

Battle of Lundy's Lane (July 25). — The American 
army, under General Brown, crossed the Niagara Eiver once 
more, and for the last time invaded Canada, Fort Erie 
having been taken, General Winfield Scott, leading the 

* New England was spared because of a belief that the northern States were an- 
friendly to the war, and would yet return to their allegiance to Great Britain. 



168 EPOCH IV. [1814. 

advance, attacked the British at Chippewa (July 5), and 
gained a brilliant victory. A second engagement was fought 
at Lundy's Lane, opposite Niagara Falls. (Map opp. p. 160.) 
Here, within sound of that mighty cataract, occurred one of 
the bloodiest battles of the war. General Scott had only one 
thousand men, but he maintained the unequal contest until 
dark. A battery, located on a height, was the key to the 
British position. CalUng Colonel Miller to his side. Gen- 
eral Brown asked him if he could take it. " I'll try, sir," 
was the fearless reply. Heading his regiment, he steadily 
marched up the height and secured the coveted position. 
Three times the British rallied for its re-capture, but as many 
times were hurled back. At midnight they retired from the 
field. This victory, though glorious to the American army, 
was barren of direct results. 

Battle of Lake Champlain (September 11). — All but 
fifteen hundred of the troops at Plattsburg had gone to rein- 
force General Brown. Prevost, the commander of the British 
army in Canada, learning this fact, took twelve thousand 
veteran soldiers, who had served under Wellington, and 
marched against that place. As he advanced to the attack, 
the British fleet on Lake Champlain assailed the American 
squadron under Commodore McDonough.* The attacking 
squadron was nearly annihilated. The little army in Platts- 
burg, by their vigorous defence, prevented Prevost from 
crossing the Saranac Eiver. When he found that his ships 
were lost, he fled precipitately, leaving his sick and wounded, 
and large quantities of military stores. 

Ravages on the Atlantic Coast— The British block- 
ade extended this year to the north. Commerce was so 
completely destroyed that the lamps in the light-houses were 

* One of his vessels lie had built in twenty days, from trees growing on the bank 
of the lake. 



i8i4] WAR OF 1812-14. 169 

extinguished as being of use only to the English. Several 
towns in Maine were captured. Stonington, Conn., was 
bombarded. Cockburn continued his depredations along the 
Chesapeake. General Koss marched to Washington (Aug. 24) 
and burned the capitol, the Congressional library, and other 
public buildings and records, with private dwellings and store- 
houses. He then sailed around by sea to attack Baltimore. 
The army having disembarked below the city (Sept. 12), moved 
against it by land,* while the fleet bombarded Fort McHenry 
from the river. The troops, however, met with a determined 
resistance, and, as the fleet had made no impression on the 
fort,f soon retired to their ships. 

The greatest excitement was produced by these events. 
Every seaport was fortified ; the militia were organized, and 
citizens of all ranks labored with their own hands in throwing 
up defences. Bitter reproaches were cast upon the adminis- 
tration because of its mode of conducting the war. Delegates 
from New England States met at Hartford (December 15) to 
discuss this subject. The meeting was branded with odium 
by the friends of the administration, and to be called a " Hart- 
ford Convention Federalist " was long a term of reproach. 

Peace, as afterward appeared, was made even before the 
convention adjourned. The treaty was signed at Ghent, 
December 24. Before, however, the news had reached this 
country, a terrible, and, as it proved, unnecessary battle had 
been fought in the South. 

Battle of New Orleans (January 8, 1815). — A power- 
ful fleet and a force of twelve thousand men, under General 

* While the British troops were marching toward Baltimore, General Ross rode 
forward with a part of his staff, to reconnoitre. Two mechanics, who were in a tree 
watching their advance, fired upon them, and Ross fell mortally wounded. The two 
patriots were instantly shot. 

t During the bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis S. Key, an American de- 
tained on board of an English vessel, wrote the national song, " The Star Spangled 
Banner." 

8 



170 EPOCH IV. [1815. 

Pakenliam, undertook the capture of New Orleans. General 
Jackson, anticipating this attempt, had thrown up intrench- 
ments* several miles below the city. The British advanced 




BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 



steadily, f in solid columns, heedless of the artillery fire 
which swept their ranks, until they came within range of 
the Kentucky and Tennessee riflemen, when they wavered. 
Their officers rallied them again and again. G-eneral Pak- 
enham fell in the arms of the same officer who had caught 

* Jackson at first made his intrenchments in part of cotton-bales, hnt a red-hot 
cannon-ball having fired the cotton and scattered the burning fragments among the 
barrels of gunpowder, it was found necessary to remove the cotton entirely. The 
only defence of the Americans in this battle was a bank of earth, five feet high, and a 
ditch in front. 

t The British were tried and disciplined troops, while very few of the Americans 
had ever seen fighting. Besides, the British were nearly double their number. But 
our men were accustomed to the use of the rifle, and were the best marksmen in the 
world. 



l8l5-l MADISON'S ADMISriSTRATION. 171 

General Eoss as he fell at Baltimore. Neither discipline nor 
bravery could prevail. General Lambert, who succeeded to 
the command, drew off his men in the night, hopelessly- 
defeated, after a loss of over two thousand ; while the Amer- 
ican loss was but seven killed and six wounded. 

Results of the War. — The treaty left the question of. 
impressment unsettled, yet it was tacitly understood, and 
was never revived. The national debt was 1127,000,000, but 
within twenty years it was paid from the ordinary revenue. 
The United States had secured the respect of European 
nations,* since our navy had dared to meet, and often suc- 
cessfully, the greatest maritime power in the world. The 
impossibility of any foreign ruler gaining a permanent foot- 
hold on our territory was shown. The fruitless invasion of 
Canada by the militia, compared with the brave defence of 
their own territory by the same men, proved that the strength 
of the United States consisted in defensive warfare. Exten- 
sive manufactories were establislied to supply the place of the 
English goods cut off by the blockade. This branch of in- 
dustry continued to thrive after peace, though for a time 
depressed by the quantity of English goods thrown on the 
market. The immediate evils of the war were apparent : 
trade ruined, commerce gone, no specie to be seen, and a 
general depression. Yet the wonderful resources of the 
country were shown by the rapidity with which it entered 
upon a new career of prosperity. 

Political Parties. — When Madison's term of office ex- 
pired, the federalist party had been broken up by its opposi- 
tion to the war. James Monroe, the Presidential candidate 

* The Algerines had taken advantage of the war with England to renew their depre- 
dations on American commerce. Decatur, in May, 1815, was sent with a squadron 
to right matters in that quarter. Proceeding to Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, he 
obtained the liberation of American prisoners, and full indemnity for all losses, with 
pledges for the future. The United States was the first nation effectually to resist 
the demands of the Barhary pirates for tribute. 



172 EPOCH IV. [1816. 

of the republican party, was almost unanimously elected. He 
was generally beloved, and all parties united in his support. 



MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(FIFTH PRESIDENT— TWO TERMS: 1817-1825.) 

Monroe's administration was one of general prosperity. 
After the ravages of war, the attention of all was turned to 
the development of the internal resources of the country and 
to the building up of its industries. 

Domestic Affairs. — The Missouri Comprotnise. — When 
the admission of Missouri as a State was proposed, a violent 
discussion arose as to whether it should be free or slave, f 

♦ James Monroe was born 1758 ; died 1831. As a soldier under General Washing- 
ton, he bore a brave record, and especially distinguished himself in the battles of 
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. Afterward, he studied law, and entered 
political life. Having been sent by Washington as Minister to France, he showed 
such marked sympathy with that country as to displease the President and his cabi- 
net, who were just concluding a treaty with England, and wished to preserve a strictly 
neutral policy ; he was therefore recalled. Under Jefferson, who was his warm friend, 
he was again sent to Prance (1803), when he secured the purchase of Louisiana. He 
is said to have always taken particular pride in this transaction, regarding his part in 
it as among the most important of his public services. Soon after his inauguration 
as President, he visited all the military posts in the north and east, with a view to 
a thorough acquaintance with the capabilities of the country in the event of future 
hostilities. This tour was a great success. He wore a blue military coat of homespun, 
light-colored breeches, and a cocked hat, being the undress uniform of a Revolution- 
ary officer. The nation was thus reminded of his former military services. This, 
with his plain and unassuming manners, completely won the hearts of the people, 
and brought an overwhelming majority to the support of the administration. Mon- 
roe was a man more prudent than brilliant, who acted with a single eye to the welfare 
of his country. Jefferson said of him : " If his soul were turned inside out, not a spot 
would be found on it." Like that loved friend, he died " poor in money, but rich in 
honor;" and like him also, he passed away on the anniversary of the independence 
of the country he had served so faithfully. 

+ The question of slavery was already one of vast importance. At first slaves were 
owned in the northern as well as the southern States. But at the North, slave labor 
was unprofitable, and it had gradually died out ; while at the South it was a success, 
and hence had steadily increased. In 1793, Eli Whitney, of Connecticut, invented 
the cotton-gin, a machine for cleaning cotton from the seed, an operation before per- 
formed by hand, and very expensive. (Eead Barnes's Pop. Hist, of the U. S., p. 348.) 
This gave a new impulse to cotton-raising. Sugar and tobacco, also great staples of 
the South, were cultivated exclusively by slave labor. 



l82I.] DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 173 

Through the efforts of Henry Clay, it was admitted as a slave 
state (1821), under the compromise that slavery should be 
prohibited in all other territories west of the Mississippi and 
north of parallel 36° 30' — the southern boundary of Missouri. 

La Fayette's Visit to this country (1824) as " the nation's 
guest" was a joyous event. He traveled through each of the 
twenty-four States, and was everywhere welcomed with de- 
light. His visit to the tomb of Washington was full of affec- 
tionate remembrance. He was carried home in a national 
vessel, the Brandywine, named in honor of the battle in which 
La Fayette first drew his sword in behalf of the colonies. 

Foreign Affairs. — Florida. — By a treaty (1819), Spain 
now ceded Florida to the United States. (See p. 146.) 

Monroe Doctrine. — In one of President Monroe's messages 
he advocated a principle since famous as the Monroe Doctrine. 
He declared that any attempt by a European nation to gain 
dominion in America would be considered by the United 
States as an unfriendly act. 

Political Parties.— Divisions now became apparent in the 
great party which had twice so triumphantly elected Monroe 
as President. The whig party, as it came to be called in 
Jackson's time, was forming in opposition to the republican 
— thenceforth known as the democratic party.* The whigs 
were in favor of a protective tariff, and a general system of 
internal improvements ; f the democrats opposed these. No 
one of the four candidates obtaining a majority of votes, the 
election went to the House of Representatives, where John 
Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, was chosen. 

* John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay were the champions of the whigs ; Andrew 
Jaclcson and John C. Calhoun, of the democrats. In 1834, the democrats began to be 
called " Locofocos," because, at a meeting in Tammany Hall, the lights having been 
put out, were relighted with locofoco matches, which several, expecting such an 
event, had carried in their pockets. 

t A protective tariff is a duty imposed on imported goods for the purpose of en- 
couraging their manufacture at home. By internal improvements are meant the 
improving of the navigation of rivers, the building of bridges and railroads, the 
dredging of harbors, etc. 



174 



EPOCH IV. 



[1825. 



J. Q. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(SIXTH PRESIDENT: 1825-1829.) 

This was a period of great national prosperity. During this 
term the first raih-oad in the United States was completed. 




THE FIRST RAILROAD TRAIN. 

and the Erie Canal opened. The debt was fast diminishing, 
and there was a surplus of $5,000,000 in the treasury. A 
protective tariff, known as the " American System," reached 
its height. It was popular at the east, but distasteful to the 
Bouth. f Adams was a candidate for re-election, but Andrew 
Jackson, the hero of New Orleans, and the democratic nomi- 
nee, was chosen. The principle of a protective tariff was 
thus rejected by the people. 

* John Qnincy Adams was bom in Massachusetts, 1767 ; died 1848. He was a man 
of learning, of blameless repntatioii and unquestioned patriotism, yet as a President 
he was hardly more successful than his father. This was, doubtless, owing greatly 
to the fierce opposition which assailed him from the friends of disappointed candi- 
dates, who at once combined to weaken his measures and prevent his re-election. 
Their candidate was Andrew Jackson, a man whose dashing boldness, energy, and 
decision attracted the popular masses, and hid the more quiet virtues of Adams. To 
add to his perplexities, a majority of the House, -and nearly one-half of the Senate, 
favored the new party, his own Vice-President, John C. Calhoun, being the candidate 
of the opposition, and of course committed to it. To stem such a tide was a hopeless 
effort. In two years Adams was returned to Congress, where he remained until his 
death, over sixteen years afterward. Ten years of public service were thus rendered 
after he had passed his " three-score years and ten," and so great was his ability in 
debate at this extreme age, that he was called " the old man eloquent." Like his 
father, he was a wonderful worker, and his mind was a complete storehouse of facts. 
He lived economically, and left a large estate. He was the congressional advocate of 
anti-slavery, and a bitter opponent of secret socieities. His fame increased with his 
age, and he died a trusted and revered champion of popular rights. He was seized 
with paralysis while occupying his seat in Congress, after which he lingered two days 
in partial unconsciousness. His last words were—" This is the last of earth ; I am 
content." 

+ The southern States, devoted to agricultural pursuits, desired to have foreign 
goods brought to them as cheaply as possible ; while the eastern States, engaged in 
manufactures, wished to have foreign competition shut off by heavy duties. 



1829.] DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 175 

JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(SEVENTH PRESIDENT— TWO TERMS: 1829-1837.) 

President Jackson commenced his administration with an 
inflexible honesty that delighted all, but with a sturdiness of 
purpose that amazed both friends and foes. He surrounded 
himself at once by his political friends, thus establishing the 
now popular principle of "rotation in office." f 

Domestic Affairs. — Nullification. — South Carolina 
(1832) passed a Nullification ordinance declaring the tariff 
law "null and void," and that the State would secede from 
the Union if force should be employed to collect any revenue 
at Charleston. President Jackson acted with his accustomed 
promptness. He issued a proclamation announcing his de- 
termination to execute the laws, and ordered troops, under 

* Andrew Jackson was bom 1767 ; died 1845. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. 
His father died before he was born, leaving his mother very poor. As a boy, Andrew 
was brave and impetuous, passionately fond of athletic sports, but not at all addicted 
to books. His life was crowded with excitement and adventure. At fourteen, being 
captured by the British, he was ordered to clean the commander's boots. Showing 
the true American spirit in his refusal, he was sent to prison with a wound on head 
and arm. Here he contracted the smallpox, which kept him ill for several months. 
Soon after his mother had eflected his exchange, she died of ship-fever while caring 
for the imprisoned Americans at Charleston. Left destitute, young Jackson tried 
various employments, but finally settled down to the law, and in 1796 was elected to 
Congress. His imperious temper and inflexible will supplied him with frequent 
quarrels. He first distinguished himself as a military officer in the war against the 
Creek Indians. His dashing successes in the war of 1812 completed his reputation, 
and ultimately won him the Presidency. His nomination was at first received in 
many States with ridicule, as, whatever might be his military prowess, neither his 
temper nor his ability recommended him as a statesman. His re-election, however, 
proved his popular success as President. His chief intellectual gifts were energy and 
intuitive judgment. He was thoroughly honest, intensely warm-hearted, and had an 
instinctive horror of debt. His moral courage was as great as his physical, and his 
patriotism was undoubted. He died at the " Hermitage," his home near Nashville, 
Tennessee.— Jackson and Adams were born the same year, yet how difierent was 
their childhood 1 One born to luxury and travel, a student from his earliest years, and 
brilliantly educated ; the other born in poverty, of limited education, and forced to 
provide for himself. Yet they were destined twice to compete with each other for 
the highest place in the nation. Adams, the first time barely successful, was unfor- 
tunate in his administration ; Jackson, triumphing the second, was brilliant in his 
Presidential career. 

t "During the first year of his administration, there were nearly seven hundred 
removals from office, not including subordinate clerks. During the forty years pre- 
ceding, there had been but sixty-four," 



176 



EPOCH IV. 



[1832. 




General Scott, to Charleston. * In the mean time Henry Clay's 

celebrated ''Compromise Bill" was adopted by the Senate. 

This measure offering a gradual reduction of the tariff, was 

accepted by both sides and quiet restored, f 

BanTc of the United 
States. — During his 
first term, Jackson 
vetoed a bill renewing 
the charter of the 
United States Bank. 
After his re-election 
by an overwhelming 
^^^^S^ majority, considering 

BANK OF THE UNITED STATES (now the Custom House). 1 • T J. • 1 

his policy sustained 
by the people, he ordered (1833) the public money to be 
removed from its vaults. The bank thereupon contracted 
its loans, money became scarce, and people being unable to 
pay their debts, commercial distress ensued. Jackson's 
measure excited violent clamor, but he was sustained by the 
democratic majority in the House of Representatives. 

Speculations. — When the public money, which had been 
withdrawn from the Bank of the United States, was deposited 

* John C. Calhonn and Robert Y. Ilayne were the prominent advocates of the 
doctrine of" State rights," which declared that a State could set aside an act of Con- 
gress. During this struggle occurred the memorable debate between Webster and 
Hayne, in which the former, opposing secession, pronounced those words familiar 
to every school-boy, " Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." 
Calhoun's public life extended over forty years. He was one of the most celebrated 
statesmen of his time. As a speaker he was noted for forcible logic, clear demon- 
stration, and earnest manner. He rejected ornament, and rarely used illustration. 
Webster, his political antagonist, said of him, " He had the indisputable basis of all 
high character, unspotted integrity, and honor unimpeached. Nothing grovelling, 
low, or meanly selfish came near his head or his heart," 

t Alexander H. Stephens says : " To do this. Clay had to break from his old politi- 
cal friends, while he was offering up the darling system of his heart on the altar of hi8 
country. No one can deny that he was a patriot — every inch of him. When he was 
importuned not to take the course he did, and assured that it would lessen his 
chances for the Presidency, he nobly replied, ' I would rather be right than Presi- 
dent '—a sentiment worthy to be the motto of every young patriot in our land." 



i8ss-] 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTEATION". 



177 



in the local banks, it became easy to borrow money. Specula- 
tion extended to every branch of trade, but especially to western 
lands. New cities were laid 
out in the wilderness. Fabu- 
lous prices were charged for 
building lots, which existed 
only on paper. Scarcely a 
man could be found who had 
not his pet project for realizing 
a fortune. The bitter fruits of 
these hot-house schemes were 
gathered in Van Buren's time. 
Indian Troubles. — 1. The 
Black HawTc War broke out 
in the Northwest Territory 
(1832). The Sacs and Foxes 
had some time before sold their 
lands to the United States, but 
when the settlers came to take 
possession, the Indians refused 
to leave. After some skir- 
mishes they were driven off, and their leader, the famous 
Black Hawk, was captured. 2. The Florida War (1835) 
with the Seminoles grew out of an attempt to remove them, 
in accordance with a treaty, to lands west of the Mississippi. 
Osceola, the chief of the Seminoles, was so defiant, that 
General Thompson, the government agent, put him in irons. 
Dissembling his wrath, Osceola consented to the treaty. But 
no sooner was he released than, burning with indignation, he 
plotted a general massacre of the whites. General Thompson 
was shot and scalped while sitting at dinner, under the very 
guns of Fort King. The same day Major Dade, with over 
one hundred men, was waylaid near the Wahoo Swamp. All 




ANDREW JACKSON. 



178 EPOCH IV. [1837. 

but four were killed, and these afterward died of their 
wounds.* After several battles the Indians retreated to the 
everglades of southern Florida, in whose tangled swamps they 
hoped to find a safe retreat'. They were, however, pursued 
into their hiding-places by Colonel Taylor, and beaten in a 
hard-fought battle (Okechobee, Dec. 25, 1837), but were not 
fully subdued until 1842. 

Foreign Affairs. — France. — The French government had 
promised to pay $5,000,000 for damages to our commerce 
during Napoleon's wars. This agreement not being kept, 
Jackson urged Congress to make reprisals on French ships. 
The mediation of England secured the payment of the debt 
by France, and thus averted the threatened war. 

Political Parties. — The democratic candidate, Martin 
Van Buren, was chosen President, f The people thus sup- 
ported the policy of Jackson — no United States Bank and no 
Protective Tariff. General Harrison was the whig candidate. 



VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION.! 

(EIGHTH PRESIDENT: 1837-1841.) 

Domestic Affairs. — Crisis of 1837. — The financial storm 
which had been gathering through the preceding administra- 

* Osceola, in October, 1837, visited the camp of General Jessup, under a flag of trace. 
He was there seized and sent to Fort Moultrie, where he died the following year. * 

t No Vice-President being chosen by the people, Colonel K. M. Johnson was 
selected by the Senate. 

X Martin Van Buren was bom 1782; died 1862. He early took an interest in 
politics, and in 1818 started a new organization of the democratic party of New 
York, his native State, which had the power for over twenty years. In 1831 he was 
appointed minister to England, whither he went in September, but when the nomi- 
nation came before the Senate in December, it was rejected, on the ground that he 
had sided with England against the United States, on certain matters, and had carried 
party contests and their results into foreign negotiations. His party regarded this as 
extreme political persecution, and the next year elected him to the Vice-Presidency. 
He thus became the head of the Senate which a few months before condemned him, 
aad where he now performed his duties with " dignity, courtesy, and impartiality." 




l837] DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 179 

tion, now burst with terrible fury. The banks contracted 
their circulation. * Business men could not pay their debts. 
Failures were every-day occurrences, and the losses in New 
York city alone, during 
March and April, exceed- 
ed $100,000,000. Property 
of all kinds declined in 
value. Eight of the States 



failed, wholly or in part. 

Even the United States 

government could not pay 

its debts, f Consternation '^"'^ birth-place of martin van buren. 

seized upon all classes. Confidence was destroyed, and trade 

stood still. 

Foreign Aflfairs.— 7%e ''Patriot War'' (1837-8).— The 
Canadian rebellion against England, at this time, stirred the 
sympathies of the American people. Meetings were held, 
volunteers offered, and arms contributed. The President 
issued a proclamation refusing the protection of the United 

—As a President, Van Buren was the subject of much partisan censure. The coun- 
try was passing through a peculiar crisis, and his was a difficult position to fill with 
satisfaction to all. That he pleased his own party is proved from the fact of his 
re-nomination in 1840 against Harrison. In 1848 he became the candidate of the " free 
democracy," a new party advocating anti-slavery principles. After this he retired 
to his estate in Kinderhook, N. Y., where he died. 

* The direct causes of this were (1) the specie circular, which was issued by Jack- 
son in 1836, just at the close of his last term, directing that payments for public lands 
should be made in gold and silver. The gold and silver was soon gathered into the 
United States treasury. (2) The surplus public money, amounting to about $28,000,000, 
which was ordered by Congress to be withdrawn from the local banks and dis- 
tributed among the States. The banks could not meet the demand. (3) During the 
season of high prices and speculation, when fortunes were easily made, there had 
been heavy importations of European goods, which had to be paid for in gold and 
silver. Thus the country was drained of its specie. (4) A terrible fire in the city of 
New York on the night of Dec. 16, 1835, which had burned 600 valuable stores, and 
property to the amount of $18,000,000. 

t At the present time the public money is kept in the United States treasury at 
Washington, and in sub-treasuries. This was Van Buren's favorite idea, and only 
adopted by Congress at the close of his term. It was called the Sub-Treasury Bill, 
and was used as a great argument against Van Buren's re-election. It was repealed 
during Tyler's administration, but re-enacted under Polk. 



180 EPOCH IV. [1838. 

states government to any who should aid the Canadians, and 
sent General Scott to the frontier to preserve the peace. * 

The Northeast Boundary between Maine and New Bruns- 
wick had never been settled. The people of that region 
threatened to take up arms to support their respective claims. 
For some time there was great peril of a war with England. 
During Tyler's administration the difficulty was adjusted by 
what is known as the Ashburton treaty (1842), which was 
negotiated between the United States and Great Britain; 
Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton acting as commissioners. 

Political Parties. — The financial difficulties caused a 
change in political feeling, and for the time weakened the 
confidence of the people in the wisdom of the democratic 
policy. Van Buren failed of a re-election, and General Har- 
rison, the hero of Tippecanoe, the whig nominee, was chosen 
President by an immense majority. 



HARRISON AND TYLER'S 
ADMINISTRATION.f 

(NINTH AND TENTH PRESIDENTS: 1841-1845.) 

General Harrison had scarcely entered upon the duties of 
his office and selected his cabinet, when he died. John Tyler, 
the Vice-President, in accordance with the Constitution of the ' 

* A body of American sympathizers having taken possession of Navy Island in 
Niagara Kiver, had hired a steamer, called the Caroline, to convey their provisions 
and war materials. On the night of December 29, 1837, a party of British troops 
attempted to seize this vessel at Schlosser. A desperate fight ensued ; but the ship 
was, at last, set on fire and left to drift over the Falls. This event caused great 
excitement at the time. 

+ William Henry Harrison was bom in 1773 ; died 1&41. He distinguished himself 
during the war of 1812, especially in the battle of the Thames. His military reputa- 
tion made him available as a Presidential candidate. His character was unimpeach- 
able, and the chief slur cast upon him by Ma opponents was that he had lived in a " log 



1841.] TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION". 181 

United States, became President. He was elected as a whig, 
but did not carry out the favorite measures of his party. 

Domestic Affairs. — United States Bank.— The. whigs, 
immediately upon coming into power, passed a bill to estab- 
lish a United States Bank, but it was vetoed by Tyler, to the 
gi'eat disgust of the men who had elected him. 

The Suffrage Difficulties, commonly known as " Dorr's 
Rebellion," grew out of efforts to secure a more liberal con- 
stitution in the State of Rhode Island. The charter gi-anted 
by Charles II. was still in force. It limited the right of 
suffrage to those holding a certain amount of property, and 
fixed very unequally the number of deputies in the Assembly 
from the different towns. In 1841, a new constitution was 
adopted, the vote being taken in mass conventions) and not 
by the legal voters, according to the charter. Under this 
constitution, T. W. Dorr was elected governor. The old 

cabin" with nothing to drinls hut "hard cider." His friends turned this to good 
account. The campaign was noted for immense mass-meetings, long processions, 
song-singing, and great enthusiasm. "Hard cider" became a party watch-word, and 
" log cabins" a regular feature in the popular parades. Harrison was elected by a 
large majority, and great hopes were entertained of his administration. Though ad- 
vanced in years, he gave promise of endurance. But "he was beset by office-seekers ; 
he was anxious to gratify the numerous friends and supporters who flocked about 
him; he gave himself incessantly to public business; and at the close of the month 
he was on a sick-bed." His illness was of eight-days duration. His last words were, 
" The principles of the government; I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more." 

John Tyler was born 1790; died 1862. He was in early life a great admirer of 
Henry Clay, and is said to have wept with sorrow when the whigs in convention 
rejected his favorite candidate for the Presidency, and selected Harrison. He was 
nominated Vice-President by a unanimous vote, and was ^ great favorite with hia 
party. In the popular refrain, " Tippecanoe and Tyler too," the people sung praises 
to him as heartily as to Harrison himself. The death of Harrison and the succession 
of Tyler, was the first instance of the kind in our history. 

Tyler's administration was not successful. He opposed the measures of his party, 
and made free use of the veto power. His former political friends denounced him as 
a renegade, to which he replied that he had never professed to endorse the measures 
which he opposed. The feeling increased in bitterness, and all his cabinet finally 
resigned. He was, however, nominated for the next Presidency by a convention 
composed chiefly of ofiice-holders ; he accepted, but finding no popular support, soon 
withdrew. In 1861 he became the presiding oflicer of the peace convention in Wash- 
ington. All efforts at reconciliation proving futile, he renounced his allegiance to the 
United States and followed the Confederate fortunes. He died in Richmond, where 
te was in attendance as a member of the Confederate Congress. 



182 



EPOCH IV. 



[1842. 



government still went on, treating his election as illegal. 
He attempted to seize the State arsenal, but, finding it held 
by the militia, gave up the attempt. Dorr was afterward 
arrested, convicted of treason, and sentenced to imprison- 
ment for life ; but was finally pardoned. Meanwhile, a 
liberal constitution having been legally adopted, went into 
operation (1843). 

Anti-Rent Difficulties (1844). — The tenants on some of the 
old "patroon" estates in New York refused to pay the rent. 
It was very light,* but was considered illegal. The anti- 
renters, as they were called, assumed the disguise of Indians, 
tarred and feathered those tenants who paid their rents, and 
even killed officers who served warrants upon them. The 
disturbances were suppressed only by a military force (1846). 




VIEW OF NAUVOO. 



The Mormons. — A religious sect called Mormons had set- 
tled at Nauvoo, 111. (1840). Here they had built a city of 



♦ The rent consisted of only " a few bushels of wheat, three or four fat fowls, and 
a day's work with horses and wagon, per year." 



I84S-] TYLER'S ADMINISTRATION". 183 

several thousand inhabitants, and laid the foundation of a 
costly temple. Having incurred the enmity of the people 
about them, their leader, Joseph Smith, was taken from 
the custody of the authorities, to whom he had entrusted 
himself, and killed. * A mob bombarded the city for three 
days, and finally (September, 1845) drove out the inhabi- 
tants, who fled to Iowa. 

Foreign ASbiixs.— Annexation of Teoms. — The Texans, 
under General Sam. Houston, having won their independ- 
ence from Mexico, applied (April, 1844) for admission into 
the Union. Their petition was at first rejected by Congress, f 
but being endorsed by the people in the fall elections, it was 
accepted before the close of Tyler's administration. 

NortMvest Boundary. — The northeast boundary question 
had scarcely been settled, when the northwest boundary 
came into dispute. It was settled during Polk's administra- 
tion, by compromise, fixing the boundary hue at 49° instead 
of 54° 40' as claimed by the United States. 

* Joseph Smith, while livins at Palmyra, N. Y., claimed to have had a eupematural 
revelatiou, by which he was directed to a spot where he found buried a series of 
golden plates covered with inscriptions, which he translated by means of two trans- 
parent stones CUrim and Thummim) found with them. The result was the Book of 
Mormon, said to be the history of a race favored by God, who occupied this continent 
at a remote period of antiquity. The Mormons accept the Holy Bible as received by 
all Christian people, but believe the Book of Mormon to be an additional revelation, 
and also that then- chief or prophet receives direct inspiration from God. They prac- 
tice plural marriage, or polygamy, claiming that the Scriptures justify, while one of 
their revelations directly commands it. After the death of Smith and their expulsion 
from Nauvoo, a company under the leadership of Brigham Young crossed the Rocky 
Mountains, and settled near Great Salt Lake, in Utah. They were followed by others 
•of their sect, and, after great sufferings, succeeded in subduing the barren soil, and 
establishing a prosperous colony. They founded Salt Lake City, where they erected 
a large temple for worship. Their prophet, Brigham Young, who died August 19, 
1877, is still remembered by his followers with the greatest reverence. 

t There were two reasons why this measure was warmly discussed— (1). Mexico 
claimed Texas, although that country had maintained its independence for nine years, 
and had been recognized by several European nations as well as by the United States. 
Besides, Texas claimed the Rio Grande (reo-granda), while Mexico insisted upon the 
Nueces (nwa-ses) River as the boundary line between Texas and Mexico. The sec- 
tion of country between these rivers was therefore disputed territory. Thus the 
annexation of Texas would bring on a war with Mexico. (2). Texas held slaves. 
Thus, while the South urged its admission, the North as strongly opposed it. 



184 



EPOCH IV, 



[1846. 



Political Parties. — The question of the annexation of 
Texas went before the people for their decision. The demo- 
crats, who favored its admission, nominated James K. Polk,* 
who, after a close contest, was elected President. The whigs, 
who opposed its admission, had nominated Henry Clay, f 



* The annonncement of Polk's nomination was the first news ever sent by magnetic 
telegraph. It was transmitted from Baltimore to Washington, May 29, 1844, over a 
line built with $30,000 appropriated by Congress to test Professor Morse's invention. 
This was the grandest event of this administration, and it has largely influenced the 
civilization and prosperity of the country. Thus the steamboat and the magnetic 
telegraph were the first fruits of American liberty and industry. (Read Barnes's 
Popular History of the United States, pp. 365 and 442.) 

t Henry Clay was a man whom the nation loved, but signally failed to honor. Yet 
his fame and reputation remain far above any distinction which mere otflce can give, 

and unite with them an affec- 
tion which stands the test of 
time. Respected by his oppo- 
nents, he was almost idolized 
by his friends. In this he 
somewhat resembled Jeft'er- 
son, but, unlike him, he had 
not in his early years the ad- 
\ antages of a liberal education. 
His father, a Baptist minister 
of very limited means, died 
when Henry was five years 
old, and at fifteen he was left to 
support himself. Meantime he 
had received what little tuition 
he had, in a log-cabin school- 
house, from very indifierent 
teachers. With a rare tact for making friends, ready talent waiting to be instructed, 
and a strong determination seeking opportunities, he soon began to show the dawn- 
ings of the power which afterward distinguished him. He said : " I owe my success 
in life to one single fact, namely, that at an early age I commenced, and continued 
for some years, the practice of daily reading and speaking the contents of some his- 
torical or scientific book. These off-hand etlbrts were sometimes made in a com- 
Qeld ; at others, in the forest ; and not unf requently in some distant barn, with the 
borse and ox for my only auditors. It is to this that I am indebted for the impulses 
that have shaped and molded my entire destiny." Rising rapidly by the force of his 
genius, he soon made himself felt in his State and in the nation. He was peculiarly 
winning in his manners. An eminent and stern political antagonist once refused an 
introduction to him expressly on the ground of a determination not to be magnetized 
by personal contact, as he " had known other good haters" of Clay to be. United 
with this suavity was a wonderful will and an inflexible honor. His political adver- 
sary, but personal admirer, John C. Breckenridge, in an oration pronounced at his 
death, uttered these words—" If I were to write his epitaph, I would inscribe as the 
highest eulogy on the stone which shall mark his resting-place : ' Here lies a man 
who was in the public service for fifty years, and never attempted to deceive hi^ 
countrymen.' " 




ASHLAND, THE HOME OF HENRY CLAY. 



1845.] THE MEXICAN WAR. 185 

JAMES K. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(ELEVENTH PRESIDENT : 1845-1849.) 

WAR WITH MEXICO. 
1846-7. 

I. GENERAL TAYLOR'S ARMY. 

Campaign on the Rio Grande. — General Taylor having 
been ordered with his troops into the disputed territory, ad- 
vanced to the Eio Grande and built Fort Brown. Keturning 
from Point Isabel, whither he had gone for supplies, on the 
plains of Palo Alto (pah-lo ahl'-to) he met six thousand Mexi- 
cans, under General Arista (ah-rees-tah), drawn up across the 
road. (Map opp. p. 161.) Though they outnumbered his 
little army three to one, he routed them with a loss of but 
nine men killed. The next afternoon he met them again at 
Resaca de la Palma (ra-sah-kah da lah pahl'-mah), posted in 
a deep ravine through which the road ran, flanked by thickets. 
Their artillery held Taylor's men in check for a time, when 
Captain May, charging with his cavalry in the face of a 
murderous fire, captured the guns, and with them their 
commander, General La Vega (lah-va'-gah), just in the act of 
firing a gun. The infantry now rushed forward and drove 
the enemy, who. fled across the Eio Grande in utter rout. 

* James K. Polk was born 1795 ; died 1849. He was one of the most conspicuous 
opposers of the administration of J. Q. Adams, and a warm supporter of Jackson. 
In 1839, having served fourteen years in Congress, *ie declined a re-election and was 
chosen governor of Tennessee. His Presidential uomination, in connection with 
that of George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, as Vice-President, had the effect of uniting 
the democratic party, which had been disturbed by dissensions between the friends 
and opponents of Martin Van Buren. The Mexican war, which was strongly opposed 
in many States, the enactment of a tariff based on a revenue principle instead of a 
protective one, and the agitation caused by the " Wilmot proviso " (see p. 190), all 
conspired to affect his popularity before the end of his term. He had, however, pre- 
viously pledged himself not to be a candidate for re-election. He died about three 
months after his retirement from office. 



186 



EPOCH IV. 



[1846. 



Invasion of Me^co. — Capture of Monterey {^Q^i. 24). — 
General Taylor, with about six thousand men, advanced upon 
Monterey (mon-tri-ra'). This city, surrounded by mountains 
and almost impassable ravines, was strongly fortified, and its 




BATTLE OF RESACA DE LA PALMA. 



streets were barricaded and defended by a garrison of ten 
thousand men. A grand assault was made on the city. To 
avoid the deadly fire from the windows, roofs, and barri- 
cades, the troops entered the buildings and dug their way 
through the stone walls from house to house, or passed from 
roof to roof. They came at last within one square of the 
Grand Plaza, when the city was surrendered. The garrison 
was allowed to march out with the honors of war. 

Battle of Buena Vista (bwa-nah vees'-tah) (February 23, 
1847). — Santa Anna, the Mexican general, learning that the 



l847-] THE MEXICAN^ WAR. 187 

flower of Taylor's command had been withdrawn to aid 
General Scott, determined to crush the remainder. The little 
American army took post at Buena Vista, a narrow mountain 
pass with hills on one side and a rayine on the other. * Here 
fchey were attacked by Santa Anna with twenty thousand of 
the best troops of Mexico. The battle lasted from early 
morning till dark. In the final desperate encounter, our 
infantry being overwhelmed by numbers, Bragg's artillery 
was ordered to the rescue. Without any infantry sujf^ort he 
dashed up to within a few yards of the crowded masses of the 
enemy. A single discharge made them waver. "K little 
more grape. Captain Bragg," shouted Taylor. A second and 
a third discharge followed, when the Mexicans broke and 
fled in disorder. During the night, Santa Anna drew off his 
defeated army. 

General Taylor's work was now done. His army was 
intended only to hold the country already gained, while 
General Scott penetrated to the capital from Vera Cruz 
(va-rah krooss). 

II. GENERAL KEARNEY'S ARMY. 

Conquest of New Mexico and California. — General 
Kearney (kar-ne) was directed to take the Spanish provinces 
of New Mexico and California. Starting from Fort Leaven- 

* Several anecdotes are told of General Taylor in connection with this battle. The 
day before the principal attack, the Mexicans fired heavily on our line. A Mexican 
officer, coming with a message from Santa Anna, found Taylor sitting on his white 
horse with one leg over the pommel of his saddle. The officer asked him "what he 
was waiting for ?" He answered, " For Santa Anna to surrender." After the officer's 
return a battery opened on Taylor's position, but he remained coolly surveying the 
enemy with his spy-glass. Some one suggesting that " Whitey " was too conspicu- 
ous a horse for the battle, he replied that "the old fellow had missed the fun at 
Monterey, and he should have his share this time." Mr. Crittenden having gone to 
Santa Anna's headquarters was told if General Taylor would surrender, he should 
be protected. Mr. Crittenden replied, " General Taylor never surrenders." This 
became a favorite motto during the election of 1848. The anecdote told concerning 
Capt, Bragg is disputed, but has become historical (Barnes's Pop. His. U. S., p. 4&i). 



188 EPOCH IV. [1846. 

worth (June, 1846), a journey of about a thousand miles 
brought him to Santa Fe. * Unf urhng here the United States 
flag he continued his march toward Cahfornia (map opp. 
p. 161). On his way, however, he learned from Kit Carson, 
the noted hunter, that he was too late. The winter before. 
Captain John C. Fremont, with a company of sixty men, 
had been engaged in surveying a new route to Oregon. 
Hearing that the Mexican commandant intended to expel 
the American settlers, he went to their rescue, although he 
was not aware that war had broken out between the United 
States and Mexico. With greatly inferior numbers, he was 
victor over the Mexicans in every conflict. By the help of 
Commodores Sloat and Stockton, and also Oeneral Kearney, 
who came in time to aid in the last battle, the entire country 
was conquered. 

III. GENERAL SCOTT'S ARMY. 

Capture of Vera Cruz (March 29, 1847).— General 
Winfield Scott landed an army, twelve thousand strong, with- 
out opposition, and forthwith drew his siege-lines among the 
shifting sand-hiUs and chaparral thickets about Vera Cruz 
(map opp. p. 161). After a fierce bombardment of four days, 
the city and the strong castle of San Juan de Ulloa (sahn 
hoo-ahn' da ool-yo'-ah) were surrendered. 

March to Mexico. — Battle of Cerro Oordo (April 18). — 
A week afterward the army took up its march for the capital. 
At the mountain pass of Cerro Cordo, the enemy were 
strongly fortified. A road was cut around the base of the 

* Colonel Doniphan, with one thousand men, the main body of General Kearney's 
comtDaud, marched over a thousand miles through a hostile country, from Santa P6 
to Saltillo, having on the vs'ay fought two battles and conquered the province and city 
of Chihuahua (che-wah-wah). At the end of their term of service he marched his men 
back to New Orleans and discharged them. They had been enlisted, taken three 
thousand mileB, and disbanded, all in a year. 



l847-] THE MEXICAN" WAR. 189 

mountain through the forest, and cannon were dragged up 
the precipice by ropes, to the rear of the position. Thence a 
plunging fire was opened simultaneously with an assault in 
front. The Mexicans fled in such haste that Santa Anna 
only escaped on his wheel-mule, leaving behind him his 
wooden leg. 

The city of Puebla (pw6b-lah), next to Mexico in impor- 
tance, surrendered without resistance. Here Scott waited 
three months for reinforcements. 

Battles before Mexico. — With eleven thousand men the march 
was resumed (August 7), and in three days the army reached 
the crest of the Cordilleras, where the magnificent valley of 
Mexico lay stretched before them. In the midst was the 
city, surrounded by fertile plains and cloud-capped moun- 
tains. But the way thither was guarded by thirty thousand 
men and strong fortifications. Turning to the south to avoid 
the strongest points, by a route considered impassable, the 
army came before the intrenched camp of Contreras, within 
fourteen miles of Mexico (Aug. 19). The next morning this 
was taken, the troops having moved to their positions in dark- 
ness so intense that, to avoid being separated, they had to 
touch each other as they marched. The same day the height 
of Churuhusco was stormed, numerous batteries were cap- 
tured, and the defences laid bare to the causeways leading to 
the very gates of the city. An armistice and fruitless nego- 
tiations for peace delayed the advance until General Scott 
found that the Mexicans were only improving the time in 
strengthening their works. Once more (September 8) our 
army moved to the assault. The attack was irresistible. The 
formidable outworks were taken one by one. At last the 
castle of Chapultepec (cha-pool-te-pek), situated on a high 
rock commanding the city, was stormed. The next day 
(September 14) the army entered the city, and the stars and 



190 EPOCH IV. [1848. 

stripes wayed in triumph over the palace of the Monte- 
zumas. 

Peace. — The fall of the capital virtually closed the war. 
A treaty was concluded February 2, 1848. The United 
States gained the vast territory reaching south to the Gila 
(ghee-lah), and west to the Pacific (maps of IVth and Vlth 
Epochs). 

Domestic Affairs. — The Wilmoi Proviso. — Texas, the 
prize of the war, became at once the bone of contention. 
David Wilmot offered in Congress (August, 184G) a bill for- 
bidding slavery in any territory which should be acquired. 
This measure, though lost, excited violent debate in and out 
of Congress, and became the gi^eat feature of t! e fall election. 

Discovery of Gold in California. — A workman in digging 
a mill-race in the Sacramento valley (February, 1848) dis- 
covered shining particles of gold. A further search proved 
that the soil for miles around was full of the precious metal. 
The news flew in every direction. Emigration began from 
all parts of America, and even from Europe and Asia. In 
eighteen months one hundred thousand persons had gone from 
the United States to this El Dorado, where a fortune was to 
be picked up in a few days. Thousands made their way 
across the desert, amid privations which strewed the route 
with skeletons. The bay of San Francisco was soon sur- 
rounded by an extemporized city of shanties and booths. 
All ordinary employments were laid aside. Ships were 
deserted by their crews, who ran to the mines, sometimes, 
it is said, headed by their ofi&cers. Soon streets were laid out, 
houses erected, and from this Babel, as if by magic, grew up 
a beautiful city. For a time, lawlessness reigned supreme. 
But, driven by the necessity of events, the most respectable 
citizens took the law into their own hands, organized vigilance 



1848.] 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 



191 



committees, and administered a rude but prompt Justice which 
soon restored order. 

Political Parties. 
— Three parties now 
divided the suffrages 
of the people. The 
whigs nominated Gen- 
eral Taylor for Presi- 
dent ; the democrats, 
Lewis Cass ; and the 
free-soilers, who were 
opposed to the exten- 
sion of slavery, Martin 
Van Buren. The per- 
sonal popularity of 
General Taylor, on 
account of his many 
sterling qualities and 
his brilliant victories 
in the Mexican war, made him the favorite candidate, and 
he was elected. 




GENERAL ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S 
ADMINISTRATION.* 

(TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH PRESIDENTS: 1849-1853.) 

General Taylor, like General Harrison, died soon after his 
elevation to the Presidency. Millard Fillmore, Vice-President, 
succeeded him. 



* Zachary Taylor was bom in Virginia in 1784. Soon after his birth his parents 
removed to Kentucky. His means of education were extremely scanty, and until 
he was twenty-four years of age he worked on his father's plantation. Madison, 
who was a relative and at that time Secretary of State, then secured for him au 



192 



EPOCH IV. 



[1850. 



Domestic Affairs. — Slavery questions were the great 
political topic of this administration. When California 
applied for admission to the Union as a free State, all these 
subjects were brought to a focus. A hot debate ensued, and 




DANIEL WEBSTER. 



HENRY CLAY. 



CLAV ADDRESSING CONGRESS. 



for awhile it seemed as if the Union would be rent asunder. 
At this terrible crisis Henry Clay, the "'Great Pacificator," 
came forward, and, with his wonderful eloquence, urged the 

appointment in tiie army as lieutenant. From this he rose by regular and rapid 
degrees to a major-generalship. Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, and 
Buena Vista, won him great applause. He was the hero of a successful war, and the 
Boldiers admiringly called him " Old Rough and Ready." Many whig leaders vio- 
lently opposed his nomination. Daniel Webster called him "an ignorant frontier 
colonel." The fact that he was a slaveholder was warmly urged against him. He 
knew nothing of civil affairs, and had taken so little interest in politics that he had 
not voted in forty years. His nomination caused a secession from the whigs, resulting 
in the formation of the free-soil party ; yet he maintained his popularity as President, 
and was one of the most esteemed who have filled that ofllce. He died July 9, 1850, 
at the Presidential mansion, after an illness of five days, 



l8S0.] FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION. 193 

necessity of mutual compromise and forbearance. Daniel 
"Webster* warmly seconded this effort at conciliation. 

The Compromise of 1850. — The Omnibus Bill, Clay's 
measure, was adopted as the best solution of the problem. It 
proposed (1) that California should come in as a free State ; 
(2) that the Territories of Utah and New Mexico should be 
formed without any provision concerning slavery ; (3) that 
Texas should be paid 110,000,000 to give up its claim on the 
Territory of New Mexico ; (4) that the slave trade should be 
prohibited in the District of Columbia, and (5) that a Fugi- 
tive Slave Law should be enacted providing for the return to 
their owners of slaves escaping to a free State. 

Foreign Affairs. — Invasion of Cuba. — About six hundred 
adventurers, " fillibusters," undertook to effect the annexation 
of Cuba to the United States. The attempt ended in utter 
defeat,, and in the execution, at Havana, of Lopez, the leader. 

Political Parties. — The democratic and whig parties 
both declared that they stood by the jDrovisions of the Om- 
nibus Bill. The free-sOil party was outspoken against it. 

* When Daniel Webster, the great American statesman and jurist, was fourteen 
years old, he first enjoyed the privilege of a few months' schooiing at an academy. 
The man whose eloquence was afterward to stir the nation, was then so shy that he 
could not muster courage to speak before the school. He says, " Many a piece did I 
commit and rehearse in my own room, over and over again ; yet when the day came, 
when my name was called, and I saw all eyes turned toward me, I could not raise 
myself from my seat." In other respects, however, he gave decided promise of his 
future eminence. One year after, his father resolved to send him to college— a dream 
he had never dared to cherish. " I remember the very hill we were ascending through 
deep snow, in a New England sleigh, when my father made known this pnrpose to 
me. I could not speak. How could he, I thought, with so large a family, and in such 
narrow circumstances, think of incurring so great an expense for me? A warm 
glow ran all over me, and I laid my head on my father's shoulder and wept."— Having 
finished his collegiate education and entered his profession, he at once rose to emi- 
nence. Elected to Congress, in his maiden speech he " took the House and country 
by surprise." By rapid strides he placed himself at the head of American orators. 
His speeches are masterpieces, and may well be the study of every aspirant for dis- 
tinction. It was a disappointment to many of Webster's friends, as it was, perhaps, 
to himself, that he was never called to the Presidential chair. But, like Clay, although 
he might have honored that position, he needed it not to enhance his renown. Hia 
death, which occurred in 1852, called out, it is said, more orations, discourses, and 
eennons, than had any other except that of Washington. 

9 



194 EPOCH IV. [1853. 

Franklin Pierce, the Presidential nominee of the democratic 
party, was elected by a large majority of Yotes over General 
Scott, the whig candidate. 



PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1853-1857.) 

Domestic Affairs. — Kansas- Nebraska Bill. — The Com- 
promise Bill of 1850 produced only a lull in the slavery excite- 
ment. It burst out anew when Stephen A. Douglas brought 
forward (1853) his famous bill organizing the Territories of 
Kansas and Nebraska, and advocating the doctrine of " squat- 
ter sovereignty ;" i. e., the right of the inhabitants of each 
Territory to decide for themselves whether the State should 
come into the Union free or slave, f This bill being a virtual 

* Franklin Pierce was born 1804 ; died 1869. He had barely attained the requisite 
legal age when he was elected to the Senate. He there found such men as Clay, 
Webster, Calhoun, Thomas H. Benton, and Silas Wright. Nathaniel Hawthorne 
Bays in his biography of Mr. Pierce: "With his usual tact and exquisite sense of 
propriety, he saw that it was not the time for him to step forward prominently on 
this highest theatre in the land. He beheld these great combatants doing battle be- 
fore the eyes of the nation, and engrossing its whole regards. There was hardly an 
avenue to reputation save what was occupied by one or another of those gigantic 
figures." During Mr. Tyler's administration, he resigned. When the Mexican war 
broke out, he enlisted as a volunteer, but soon rose to the office of brigadier-general. 
He distinguished himself under General Scott, against whom he afterward success- 
fully ran for the Presidency, and upon whom, during his administration, he conferred 
the title of lieutenant-general. Pierce opposed anti-slavery measures in every shape. 
He, however, espoused the national cause at the opening of the Civil War. 

+ The public lands have often threatened the peace of the nation. (1.) The ques- 
tion of their ownership was one of the greatest obstacles to the Union of the States. 
In 1781, New York was the first to present her western territory to the general govern- 
ment. Virginia followed her example in 1784, donating tho great Northwestern 
Territory — a princely domain, which, if retained, would have made her the richest of 
the States; she reserved only 3,700,000 acres in Ohio, which she subsequently sold in 
small tracts to settlers. Massachusetts, in 1785, relinquished her claim, retaining a 
proprietary right over large tracts in New York. Connecticut, in 1786, did the same, 
and from the sale of her lands in Ohio laid the foundation of her school fund of 
$2,000,000. Georgia and the Carolinas gave up their right to territory from which 
have since been carved the States of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. (2.) Since 
these lands became the property of the general government, a most perplexing ques- 
tion has been, Shall they be free? Upon it has hinged largely the politics of the 
country. The admission of Missouri, Texas, California, and Kansas has each been 



l854-] PIERCE'S ADMIKISTRATION". 195 

repudiation of the Missouri Compromise, excited the most 
intense feeling.^ It, however, became a law (May, 1854). 

"Border Warfare.^' — The struggle was now taken from 
Congress to Kansas. A bitter contest arose between the pro- 
slavery and anti-slavery men — the former anxious to secure 
the State for slavery; the latter, for freedom. Each party sent 
bodies of armed emigrants to the Territory and civil war en- 
sued. Bands of "armed men" crossed over from Missouri, 
took possession of the polls, and controlled the elections. 
Houses were attacked and pillaged, and men murdered in cold 
blood. For several years Kansas was a scene of lawless violence. 

Foreign Affairs. — Mexico. — Owing to the inaccuracy of 
the map used in the treaty between the United States and 
Mexico, a dispute arose with regard to the boundary line. 
General Gadsden negotiated a settlement whereby Mexico 
was paid $10,000,000, and the United States secured the re- 
gion (map. Epoch VI) known as the "Gadsden purchase." 

Japan. — Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan (1854) 
excited great attention. He negotiated a treaty which gave 
to the merchants of the United States two j)orts of entry in 
that exclusive country. 

Political Parties. — The compromises of 1830 and 1850 
being now abolished, the slave question became the turning- 
point of the election. New party lines were drawn to meet 

the signal for the reopening of this vexed question.— Though the public lands have 
been the cause of intestine strife, they have been a great source of national wealth. 
Their sale has brought large sums into the treasury. They have been given to settlers 
as a stimulus to emigration. They have been granted to endow college.s and schools, 
to build railroads, to reward the soldiers and support their widows and orphans. In 
every township to be incorporated hereafter in the great west, a portion of the land 
must be reserved for school purposes. By the Homestead Act of 1863, any citizen 
may secure one hundred and sixty acres. 

* During the discussion, which was exciting almost beyond precedent, Mr. Sum- 
ner, of Massachusetts, made some severe reflections upon Senator Butler, of South 
Carolina. For this he was assailed by Preston S. Brooks, a nephew of Senator Butler 
and a South Carolina representative, and so severely injured that for three years he 
could not resume his seat. Mr. Brooks was censured for this act, but, having re. 
signed his seat, was immediately returned without opposition. 



196 EPOCH IV. [1856. 

this issue. * The whig party ceased to exist. The republi- 
can party, absorbing all who opposed the extension of slavery, 
nominated John C. Fremont, who received the vote of eleven 
States. The democratic party, retaining its organization, 
nominated James Buchanan, who was elected President. 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION.! 

(FIFTEENTH PKESIDENT: 1857-1861.) 

Domestic Affairs. — Dred Scott J Decision. — The Supreme 
Court of the United States (1857), through Chief-Justice 
Taney, declared that slave-owners might take their slaves into 
any State in the Union without forfeiting authority over them. 
At the North, this was considered as removing the last barrier 

* A third party, called the Know-Nothlng or American party, was organized to 
resist the influence of foreigners. It carried the vote of only one State, Maryland. 
Its motto was " America for Americans." The party aroused bitter feelings, but had 
a transient existence. (Read list of Political Parties, Barnes's Pop. Hist., p. 654.) 

t James Buchanan was bom 1791 ; died 1868. The " bachelor-President " was 
sixty-six years old when he was called to the executive chair. He had just returned 
to his native country, after an absence of four years as minister to England. Pre- 
viously to that he had been well known in public life, having been Representative, 
Senator, and Secretary of State. As Senator in Jackson's time, he heartily sup- 
ported his administration. With Van Buren, he warmly advocated the idea of an 
Independent treasury (see p. 179), against the opposition of Clay, Webster, and others. 
Under Tyler, he was urgently in favor of the annexation of Texas, thus again coming 
into conflict with Clay and Webster. He cordially agreed with them, however, in the 
compromise of 1850 (see p. 193), and urged the people to adopt it. Much was hoped 
from his election, as he avowed the object of his administration to be "to destroy 
any sectional party, whether North or South, and to restore, if possible, that national 
fraternal feeling between the different States that had existed during the enrly days 
of the Republic." But popular passion and sectional jealousy were too strong to 
yield to pleasant persuasion. We shall see in the text how the heated nation was 
drawn into the horrors of civil war. When Mr. Buchanan's administration closed, 
the fearful conflict was close at hand. He retired to his estate in Pennsylvania, 
where he died. 

% Scott and his wife were slaves belonging to a surgeon in the United States army. 
They were taken into and resided in Illinois and at Port Snelling, in territory from 
which, by the ordinance of 1787, slavery was forever excluded. Afterward they were 
carried into Missouri, where they and their children were held as slaves. They 
claimed freedom on the ground that, by the act of their master, they had been taken 
into free territory. The decision of the court against their claims created an intense 
excitement throughout the country. 



l8S7.] BUCHANAK'S ADMINISTRATION". 197 

to the extension of slayery, and as changing it from a local to 
a national institution ; at the South, only as a right guaran- 
teed them by the Constitution, whereby they should be pro- 
tected in the possession of their property in every State. 

The Fugitive Slane Laio had intensified the already heated 
controversy, and the subject of slavery now absorbed all 
others. The provision which commanded every good citizen 
to aid in the arrest of fugitives was especially obnoxious to 
the North. Disturbances arose whenever attempts were 
made to restore runaways to their masters. Several of the 
northern States passed "Personal Liberty" bills, securing to 
fugitive slaves, when arrested, the right of trial by jury. 

John Broiun, a man who had brooded over the exciting 
scenes through which he had passed in Kansas until he 
thought himself called upon to take the law into his own 
hands, seized upon the United States Arsenal at Harper's 
Ferry (1859), and proclaimed freedom i^o the slaves in the 
vicinity. His feeble band was soon overpowered by United 
States troops, and Brown himself hauged as a traitor. 
Though it was soon known that in his wild design he had 
asked counsel of no one, yet at the time the Southern feeling 
was aroused to frenzy, his act being looked upon as significant 
of the sentiments of the North. 

Political Parties. — The fall elections again turned on 
the question of slavery. The democratic party divided, and 
made two nominations for President : Stephen A. Douglas, 
who favored squatter sovereignty, and John C. Breckinridge, 
who claimed that slavery could be carried into any territory. 
The republican party nominated Abraham Lincoln, who held 
that while slavery must be protected where it was, it ought 
not to be carried into free territory.* Lincoln was elected. 

* The " Union " party put up John Bell, of Tennessee. Their motto was, " The 
Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the Laws," 



198 



EPOCH IV. 



[i860. 



The South Secedes.— Throughout the fall campaign 
the Southern leaders had threatened to secede if Mr. Lincoln 

were elected.* They now 
declared that it was time to 
leave a government which 
had fallen into the hands of 
their avowed enemies. Since 
the time of Calhoun they had 
heen firm believers in the doc- 
trine of State rights, which 
taught that a State could 
leave the Union whenever 
it pleased. In December- 
(1860) South Carolina led 
off, and soon after Missis- 
sippi, Florida, Alabama, 
Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas passed ordinances of se- 




ABKAHAM LINCOLN. 



* This was not a sudden movement on their part. The sectional diflference between 
the North and the South had its source in the difl'erence of climate, which greatly 
modified the character and habits of the people ; also, while the agricultural pursuits 
and staple products of the South made slave labor profitable, the mechanical pursuits 
and the more varied products of the North made it unprofitable. These antagonisms, 
settled first by the Missouri Compromise of ]820, reopened by the tariff of 1828, 
bursting forth in the nullification of 1832, pacified by Clay's compromise tariff, in- 
creased through the annexation of Texas and the consequent war with Mexico, irri- 
tated by the Wilmot Proviso, lulled for a time by the compromise of 1850, awakened 
anew by the " squatter sovereignty" policy of 1853, roused to fury by the agitation in 
Kansas, spread broadcast by the Drcd Scott decision, the attempted execution of the 
Fugitive Slave Law and the John Brown raid, had now reached a point where war 
was the only remedy. The election of Lincoln was the pivot on which the result 
turned. The cause ran back through thirty years of controversy to the difference in 
climate, in occupation, and in the habit of life and thought. Strange to say, each 
section misunderstood the other. The Southern people believed the North to be so 
engrossed in money-making and so enfeebled by luxury that it could send to the field 
only mercenary soldiers, who would easily be beaten by the patriotic Southerners. 
They said, " Cotton is King ;" and believed that England and France were so depend- 
ent upon them for that staple, that their republic would be recognized and defended 
by those European powers. On the other hand, the Northern people did not believe 
that the South would dare to fight for slavery when it had 4,000,000 slaves exposed to 
the chances of war. They thought it to be all bluster, and hence paid little heed to 
the threat of Becession or of war. Both sides sadly learned their mistake, only too 
late. 



i86i.] 



BUCHAKAlsr'S ADMIKISTR ATION, 



199 




cession. In February (1861) delegates from these States 
met at Montgomery, Ala., and formed a government called 
the "Confederate States of America." Jefferson Davis, 
of Mississippi, was chosen 
President, and Alexander H. 
Stephens, of Georgia, Vice- 
President. United States 
forts, arsenals, custom- 
houses, and ships were 
seized by the States in 
which they were situated. 
Buchanan did nothing to 
prevent the catastrophe. 
General Scott urged action, 
but the regular army was 
small, and the troops were 
widely scattered. The navy had been sent to distant ports. 
The Cabinet largely sympathized with the secessionists. Nu- 
merous unsuccessful efforts were made to effect a compromise. 

It was the general 
expectation that there 
would be no war, and 
the cry, "No coer- 
cion," was general.* 
Yet affairs steadily 
drifted on toward war. 
Fort Sumter. — 
All eyes were now 
turned on Fort Sum- 
ter. Here Major Anderson kept the United States flag flying 
in Charleston harbor. He had been stationed in Fort Moul- 



JEFFERSON DAVIS. 




FORT SUMTER. 



* Even the New York Tribune declared—" Whenever any considerable section of 
our Union shall deliberately resolve to go out, we shall resist all coercive measures 
to keep them in." 



200 EPOCH IV. [1861. 

trie (map, p. 280), but fearing an attack, had crossed over 
(December 26) to Fort Sumter, a stronger position. The 
South Carolinians, looking upon this as a hostile act, took 
possession of the remaining forts, commenced erecting bat- 
teries, and prepared to reduce Fort Sumter. Major Anderson 
was compelled by his instructions to remain a quiet spectator 
of these preparations. The Star of the West, an unarmed 
steamer, bearing troops and supplies to the fort, was fired 
upon and driven back. The Southern leaders declared that 
any attempt to relieve Fort Sumter would be a declaration of 
war. The government seemed paralyzed with fear. All now 
waited for the new President. 

In the next Epoch, we shall learn about the terrible Civil 
War caused by this efEort to secede. During its progress 
slavery perished, and the issue of the conflict decided that 
the nation should be henceforth " one and inseparable." 

The States admitted during the Fourth Epoch in- 
creased the number in the Union from thirteen to thirty-four. 

Vermont, the fourteenth State, and the first under the 
Constitution, was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791. It 
was so called from its principal range of mountains {verd, 
green, and mont, mountain). Champlain discovered and ex- 
plored much of it in 1609. The first settlement was made 
in 1724, in the present town of Brattleborough, where Fort 
Dunimer was erected. The region was claimed by both New 
Hampshire and New York (see p. 110). In 1777, the inhabit- 
ants declared the *'New Hampshire grants" an independent 
State, under the title '' New Connecticut, alias Vermont." In 
1791, however. New York consented to relinquish her claim 
on the payment of $30,000, and Vermont was accordingly 
admitted into the Union. 

Kentucky, the fifteenth State, was admitted to the 
Union June 1, 1792. The name, " dark and bloody ground/* 



1792.] DEVELOPMEKT OP THE STATES.. 201 

had its origin in the fierce conflicts which took place between 
the whites and the Indians. Daniel Boone, a famous hunter, 
for two years rambled through the forests of this region, de- 
lighted with its scenery and the abundance of game. After 
many thrilling adventures and narrow escapes from the 
Indians, he established a fort at Boonesborough, and removed 
his family thither in June, 1775. This was the first perma- 
nent settlement in the State, then a part of Virginia, from 
which it was not separated till 1790. 

Tennessee, the sixteenth State, was admitted to the 
Union June 1, 1796. It was named from the river Tennessee, 
the "river with the great bend." It is thought that De Soto, 
in his wanderings, visited the spot where Memphis now stands. 
The first permanent settlement in the State * was at Fort 
Loudon, thirty miles from the present site of Knoxville, in 
1756. In 1780, James Robertson crossed the mountains with a 
party, and located where Nashville now stands, but which was 
then a wilderness. In 1789, North Carolina gave up her claim 
on the region, and the next year it was joined with Kentucky 
to form an independent territory. It received a distinct terri- 
torial government two years before it became a State. 

Ohio, the seventeenth State, was admitted to the Union 
November 29, 1802. It was so called from the river of that 
name, signifying the " beautiful river. " The first explorations 
were made by the French, under La Salle, about 1680. The 
first permanent settlement was at Marietta, in 1788. It was 
the first State carved out of the great Northwestern Territory.f 

Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was admitted to the 

* This was the first pennanent English settlement south of Pennsylvania and west 
of the Alleghanies. 

t This territory was created in 1787, and included all the public land north of the 
Ohio. It embraced the present States of Michie;an, Ohio, Indiana, Elinois, Wiscon- 
sin, and part of Minnesota. It was a part of New France before the French authority 
ceased in 1763. The British held possession for twenty years, when the country was 
ceded to the United States (see Map of Vlth Epoch, and p. 146). 



202 EPOCH IV. [l8l2. 

Union April 8, 1812. The territory was named in honor of 
Louis XIV, king of France. The French explored the river 
Mississippi to the sea in 1682 (see p. 34), but their first settle- 
ment was made by Iberville at Biloxi, near its mouth, in 1699. 
New Orleans was founded in 1718.* The territory was ceded 
to Spain in 1762, but in 1800 was receded to France. When 
the United States purchased it (see p. 155), Louisiana included 
all the region north and west between the Mississippi and the 
Pacific (except those portions then occupied by Spain : see 
California) and north to the British possessions. In 1804, 
this region was divided into two parts — the territory of 
Orleans, which included the present State of Louisiana, and 
the district of Louisiana, which comprised the remainder. 
The former was admitted to the Union as Louisiana, and the 
name of the latter changed to Missouri. 

Indiana, the nineteenth State, was admitted to the Union 
December 11, 1816. The name is derived from the word 
Indian. The exact date of the first settlement is undeter- 
mined. When Ohio was taken from the Northwestern 
Territory, the remainder was called Indiana. It was reduced 
to its present limits in 1809, and was the second State 
admitted from the Northwestern Territory. After the 
Indian difficulties which hindered its early development had 
subsided, its growth was very rapid. Between 1810 and 
1820, its population increased five hundred per cent. 

Mississippi, the twentieth State, was admitted to the 
Union December 10, 1817. It is named from the Mississippi 
River, the " Great Father of Waters." De Soto was the first 
European who traversed this region. In 1700, Chevalier de 
Tonty, with a party of Canadian French, ascended the river 

* The colony was granted to the great Mississippi Company, organized by John 
Law, at Paris, for the purpose of settling and deriving profit from the French posses- 
Eions in North America. When this bubble burst, the French crown resumed the 
country. (See Brief History of France, p. 176.) 



lyoo.] DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. " 303 

to the Natchez country, where they selected a site for a fort 
and called it Eosalie. A settlement called St. Peters was 
made in 1703, on the Yazoo. In 1728, the Indians swept 
every vestige of civilization from the present limits of the 
State. Under the French governors who followed, fierce and 
bloody wars were waged with the Natchez, Chickasaw, and 
Choctaw Indians. In 1763, Louisiana east of the Mississippi, 
including a part of what is now Mississippi and Alabama, was 
ceded to the British, and became a part of Georgia. The 
Mississippi Territory was created in 1798, and lands were after- 
ward added until it embraced the present States of Mississippi 
and Alabama. The latter became a separate Territory in 
March, 1817. 

Illinois, the twenty-first State, was admitted to the Union 
December 3, 1818. Its name is derived from its principal 
river, signifying "River of men." Its first settlements were 
made by La Salle. * After the States of Ohio and Indiana, 
and the Territory of Michigan had been taken from the 
Northwestern Territory, the remainder was styled the Illi- 
nois Territory, and comprised the present States of Illinois, 
Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota. The settlement of this 
Territory was greatly impeded by Indian hostilities. The 
massacre at Fort Chicago, August 15, 1812, and the Black 
Hawk war, are instances of the dangers and trials which beset 
the pioneer. The great prosperity of the State dates from 
the year 1850, when munificent grants of land were made to 
the Central Eailroad. The prairie wilderness was rapidly 
settled, and towns and cities sprang up as by magic. 

Alabama, the twenty-second State, was admitted to the 
Union December 14, 1819. Its name is of Indian origin, and 

* That enterprising traveler, after exploring the niinois Eiver, built a small fort 
■which he called Crevecceur (krave-kur), and left it in command of the Chevalier de 
Tonty. Three years aftervcard he returned with some Canadians and founded Kas- 
kaskia, Cahokia, and other towns, which early became flourishing, though the seti 
tiers, in manners and habits, were assimilated to the Indians. 



304 EPOCH IV. [1819. 

signifies " Here we rest." It was originally a part of Georgia. 
(See Mississippi. ) The fierce contests with the Creek Indians, 
ended by Jackson, gave to the State a vast and fertile region. 
The first settlement was made by Bienville on Mobile Bay, in 
1702. Nine years afterward, the present site of Mobile was 
occupied. Mobile was the original seat of the French colo- 
nization in Louisiana, and for many years the capital. Having 
been ceded to Great Britain and then to Spain, in 1813 it was 
surrendered to General Wilkinson, and has since remained in 
the possession of the United States (p. 146). 

Maine, the twenty-third State, was admitted to the Union 
March 15, 1820. (Seep. 60.) 

Missouri, the twenty-fourth State, was admitted to the 
Union August 10, 1821. Its name is derived from its prin- 
cipal river, and means " Muddy water." Its oldest town, St. 
Genevieve, was founded in 1755. St. Louis was settled nine 
years after, but was not incorporated as a town until 1809 ; 
its first newspaper was published in 1808, and the first steam- 
boat arrived at its wharf in 1817. The District of Louisiana 
was organized as Louisiana Territory in 1805, with St. Louis 
as its capital. When Louisiana became a State, the name of 
the Territory was changed to Missouri. 

Arkansas, the twenty-fifth State, was admitted to the 
Union June 15, 1836. It took its name from a now extinct 
tribe of Indians. It was discovered and settled by the French 
under Chevalier de Tonty, as early as 1685. It followed the 
fate of the other portions of Louisiana. On the admission of 
the State of Missouri, Arkansas was organized as a Territory, 
including the present State and a part of Indian Territory. 

Michigan, the twenty-sixth State, was admitted to the 
Union January 26, 1837. The name is of Indian origin, sig- 
nifying "Great Lake." It was early visited by missionaries 
(see p. 33) and fur traders. Detroit was founded in 1701 by 



l805.] DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 306 

Cadillac. This region, first a part of the Nirth western Terri- 
tory, then of Indiana Territory, was organized as a separate 
Territory in 1805. The country north of the present States 
of Indiana and Illinois was annexed to Michigan in 1818. 
The act of admission gave the State its present boundaries. 

Florida, the twenty-seventh State, was admitted to the 
Union March 3, 1845. The Spanish word florida, means 
"blooming" (see p. 27). Its early visitors, Ponce de Leon, 
De Narvaez, and De Soto, its first settlement at St, Augus- 
tine, its history under the Spaniards, and the Seminole war, 
have been incidentally described. It was organized as a 
Territory March 3, 1819. 

Texas, the twenty-eighth State, was admitted to the Union 
December 27, 1845. It was explored by De Leon and La 
Salle. The latter, intending to found a French settlement 
at the mouth of the Mississippi, sailed by it unawares, and, 
landing at Matagorda Bay, built Fort St. Louis on the 
Lavaca. The Spaniards afterward explored and partially 
settled the country, establishing missions at various points. 
These did not prosper, however, and the region was populated 
mainly by roving bands of Indians. Civil war had impover- 
ished the few settlers who were unable to flee from the 
country, and Galveston was nearly deserted, when, in 1820, 
Moses Austin, a native of Connecticut, obtained from the 
Spanish authorities in Mexico a grant of land. Emigration 
from the United States was encouraged, and in 1830 there 
were twenty thousand Americans in Texas. The jealousy of 
Mexico being excited, acts of oppression followed, and in 
1835 the Texans were driven to declare their independence. 
After a year of severe fighting * and alternating victories, 

* Santa Anna, with four thousand men, having attacked the Alamo, a fort garrl- 
Boned by only one hundred and seventy-two men, every one of that gallant few died 
at his post except seven, who were killed while asking for quarter. Here David 
Crockett, the famous hunter, who had volunteered to fight with the Texans for their 



206 EPOCH IV. [1837. 

Santa Anna was conquered. The next year (1837) Texas 
sought admission into the Union. In 1844 the question was 
revived. The last act of Tyler's administration was to sign 
a bill for its admission. This bill was ratified by a conven- 
tion of the State, July 5th of the same year. 

lowa^ the twenty-ninth State, was admitted to the Union 
December 28, 1846. Its name is of Indian origin, signifying 
''Drowsy ones." Julien Dubuque, a Canadian Frenchman, 
obtained, in 1788, a large tract of land, including the present 
site of Dubuque. He there built a fort and traded with the 
Indians till 1810. The first permanent settlement was made 
at Burlington in 1833, by emigrants from Illinois. The 
same year, Dubuque was founded. This Territory belonged 
to the Louisiana tract and partook of its fortunes. It was 
successively a part of Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin 
Territories, but was organized separately in 1838. It then 
included all of Minnesota west of the Mississippi Eiver, but 
when admitted as a State was reduced to its present limits. 

Wisconsin, the thirtieth State, was admitted to the 
Union May 29, 1848. Its name is derived^from its principal 
river, and signifies ''The gathering of the waters." It was 
explored by French missionaries and traders as early as 1639. 
Green Bay was founded in 1745. This region was also a 
part of the Northwestern Territory. It was comprised in the 
Territory of Illinois, then of Michigan, and in 1836 became 
a separate Territory. 

California, the thirty-first State, was admitted to the 
Union September 9, 1850 (see p. 190). Sir Francis Drake, 
in 1579, sailed along its coast, naming it New Albion, and 
visited San Francisco harbor (see p. 35). In 1769, the 

liberty, fell, pierced with wounds, but surrounded by the corpses of those whom he 
had cut down ere he was overpowered. In the battle of San Jacinto, Santa Anna, 
with fifteen hundred men, was defeated by eight hundred, under General Sam. Hous- 
ton. (See Barnes's Popular History of the United States, p. 445.) 



1776.] 



DEVELOPMEIirT OF THE STATES. 



207 




SAN FRANCISCO BAY. 



PACIFIC OCEAN. 
BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF SAN FRANCISCO. 



THE GOLDEN GATE, 



Spaniards established the mission of San Diego (de-a'-go), 
and in 1776 (the year of the Declaration of Independence), 
one at San Francisco. * In 1 803, they had eighteen missions 
with over fifteen thousand converts, and the entire govern- 
ment of the country was in the hands of the Franciscan 
monks. The Mexican revolution, in 1822, overthrew the 
Spanish power in California, and in a few years the Francis- 

* In 1835, a shanty owned by one Richardson was the only human habitation, and 
the vast bay was a solitnde. The first survey of streets and town lots was in m39. 
The principal trade was in exportins; hides, and that was small. In 1846, an Ameri- 
can man-of-war entered the harbor, and took possession in the name of the United 
States. The town was known as Verba Buena (good herb) until 1847, when it was 
changed to its present name. About that time it had a population of four hundred 
and fifty-nine. The discovery of gold in 1848 (see p. 190) gave the city its first start 
toward its present distinction. Within eighteen months following December, 1849, 
the city lost by fire $16,000,000 of property, though its population did not exceed 
thirty thousand. Such, however, was the enterprise of its citizens, that these tre- 
mendous losses scarcely interrupted its growth or prosperity. Its magnificent har- 
bor and its railroad commonications give it an extensive commerce on the Pacific 
Coast. 



208 EPOCH IV. [1831. 

cans were stripped of their wealth and influence. In 1831, 
the white population did not exceed five thousand. From 
1843 to 1846, many emigrants from the United States settled 
in California, and, under the leadership of Fremont and 
others, wrested the country from Mexico (see p. 188). By 
the treaty at the close of the Mexican war. Upper California 
was ceded to the United States. It embraced about 450,000 
square miles, comprising what is now known as California, 
Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and parts of Colorado and New 
Mexico. (Maps of IVth and Vlth Epochs.) 

Minnesota, the thirty-second State, was admitted to the 
Union May 11, 1858. It is so called from the river of that 
name, and signifies " Cloudy water." In 1680, La Salle and 
Hennepin penetrated this region. Other travelers followed, 
and within the present century the whole country has been 
thoroughly explored. Fort Snelling was established in 1819. 
St. Paul was settled in 1846 by emigrants from the East. 
The Territory of Minnesota was organized in 1849, with the 
Missouri and White rivers for its western boundary, thus 
embracing nearly twice the area of the present State. At 
this time its population was less than five thousand, consist- 
ing of whites and half-breeds settled about the various 
missions and trading-posts. In 1851, the Sioux ceded a 
large tract of land to the United States. After this, the 
population increased so rapidly that in six years Minnesota 
applied for admission into the Union. 

Oregon, the thirty-third State, was admitted to the Union 
February 14, 1859. It is said to derive its name from the 
Spanish oregano, wild marjoram, abundant on its coast. It 
constituted a part of the Louisiana purchase, though for a 
long time little was known of this portion of that vast territory. 
In 1792, Captain Gray, of Boston, entered the river to which 
he gave the name of his ship, the Columbia. On his returUj he 



l804.] DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATES. 209 

made such a flattering report that there was a general desire 
to know more of the country. In 1804, the year after the 
Louisiana purchase, Jefferson sent an exploring party, under 
the command of Captain Lewis and Lieutenant Clark, which 
followed the Missouri to its source and descended the Colum- 
bia to the Pacific. The history of their adventures is one of 
the most romantic of the century. An extensive fur-trade 
soon began. Fort Astoria was built in 1811 by the American 
Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor was a prominent 
member. Hunters and trappers in the employ of American 
and British companies roamed over the whole region. Fort 
Vancouver was occujDied by the Hudson Bay Company, a 
British organization, till 1860. In 1839, the first American 
emigration set toward this region. The danger of war which 
had seriously threatened its dawning prosperity was averted 
when the northwest boundary was settled by the treaty of 
1846. In 1848, it was organized as a Territory, and included 
all the possessions of the United States west of the Eocky 
Mountains. In 1850, Congress granted three hundred and 
sixty acres to every man, and the same to his wife, on con- 
dition of residence on the land for four years. Eight thousand 
claims were made for farms. In 1853, Washington Territory 
was organized north of Columbia River. When Oregon was 
admitted as a State, it was reduced to its present limits. 

Kansas, the thirty-fourth State, was admitted to the 
Union January 29, 1861. The name is of Indian origin, and 
is said to mean " Smoky water." This region was also a part 
of the Louisiana purchase. After the States of Louisiana, 
Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota had been carved 
from it, there was left a vast, unoccupied tract at the west, 
which was organized by the Kansas and Nebraska Act of 
1854. The history of the strife which decided whether it 
should be slave or free has been narrated. (See p. 195.) 



210 



EPOCH IV, 



[1789. 



1793. 



1795. 
1796. 
1797. 
1799. 
1800. 

1801. 

1803. 
1803. 

1804. 

1805. 
1807. 



1809. 
1811. 

1813. 



Summary of the History of the Fourth Epoch, 
arranged in Chronological Order. 

1789. Washington inaugurated, April 30, . 
1791. Vermont admitted to the Union, March 4, 

1793. Kentucky admitted to the Union, June 1, 
Discovery of Columbia River by Captain Gray, May 11, 
Difficulties with Genet, 

1794. The Indians defeated by Wayne, August 30, . 

Whisky insurrection, 

Jay's treaty ratified, June 34, . 

Tennessee admitted to the Union, June 1, 

John Adams inaugurated, March 4, . 

Washington died at Mount Vernon, December 14, 

Capitol removed to Washington, 

Treaty with France, September 30, . 

Thomas Jefferson inaugurated, March 4, . 

War declared by United States against Tripoli, June 10, 

Ohio admitted to the Union, November 29, 

Louisiana purchased from France, April 30, 

Fleet sent against Tripoli, 

Lieut. Decatur destroyed frigate Philadelphia, Feb. 15, 

Hamilton killed by Burr, July 11, . 

Treaty of peace with Tripoli, June 3, 

The Chesapeake fired into by the Leopard, June 23 

Embargo on American ships, December 33, 

Fulton first ascended the Hudson, September 14, 

James Madison inaugurated, March 4, 

Action between the President and the Little Belt, May 16 

Battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, . 

Louisiana admitted to the Union, April 8, 

War declared against England, June 19, . 

Hull invaded Canada, July 12, . 

Mackinaw surrendered, July 17, . . . 

Detroit surrendered, August 16, 

The Constitution captured the Guerriere, August 19 

Battle of Queenstown, October 13, . 

The Wasp captured the Frolic, October 13, 

1813. Battle of Frenchtown, January 23, . 

Capture of York, April 37, .... 
Siege of Fort Meigs, May 1 , . 
Sackett's Harbor attacked, May 39, . 
American frigate Chesapeake captured by the Shannon, 
Junel. . . • 166 



i8i3.] 



SUMMAEY. 



211 



1813. 



1814. 



1815. 

1816. 

1817. 

1818. 
1819. 

1820. 

1821. 
1824. 
1825. 
1826. 
1829. 
1832. 

1835. 
1836. 
1837. 



1837-8. 
1841. 



1842. 
1845, 



tnber 11, 



Battle of Fort Stephenson, Ohio, August 2, 

Massacre of Fort Mimms, August 30, 

Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September 10, . 

Battle of the Thames, October 5, . . . 

Battle of Chrysler's Field, November 11, . 

Battle of Horse-shoe Bend (Tohopeka), March 27, 

Battle of Chippewa, July 5, . . . . 

Battle of Lundy's Lane, July 25, . . . 

Washington captured by the British, August 24, 

Battle of Plattsburg and Lake Champlain, September 

Bombardment of Fort McHenry, September 18, 

Hartford Convention, December 15, 

Treaty of Peace, December 24, . 

Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 

War with Algiers, 

Indiana admitted to the Union, Dece 

James Monroe inaugurated, March 4, 

Mississippi admitted to the Union, December 10, 

Illinois admitted to the Union, December 3, 

Alabama admitted to the Union, December 14, 

Florida purchased of Spain, February 22, 

Missouri Compromise passed, March 3, 

Maine admitted to the Union, March 15, . 

Missouri admitted to the Union, August 10, 

Visit of La Fayette, August 15,' 

John Quincy Adams inaugurated, March 4, 

Adams and Jefferson died, July 4, 

Jackson inaugurated, March 4, . 

Black Hawk War, 

Nullification in South Carolina, 

Dade's massacre by the Seminoles, December ' 

Arkansas admitted to the Union, June 15, 

Michigan admitted to the Union, January 26, 

Martin Van Buren inaugurated, March 4, 

Battle of Okechobee, Seminoles routed by Tayl 

The " Patriot War " — Canada, . 

Wm. H. Harrison inaugurated, March 4, 

President Harrison died, April 4, 

John Tyler inaugurated, April 6, 

Dorr's Rebellion, .... 

Florida admitted to the Union, March 3, 

James K. Polk inaugurated, March 4 

Texas admitted to the Union, December 27, 



or, Dec 



TJlSB 

. 164 

. 166 

. 164 

. 165 

. 163 

. 166 

. 168 

. 168 

. 169 

11, 168 

. 169 

. 169 

. 169 

. 169 

. 171 

. 203 

. 173 

. 202 

. 203 

. 203 

. 173 

. 172 
60, 204 

. 204 

. 173 

. 174 

. 154 

. 175 

. 177 

. 175 

. 177 

. 204 

. 204 

. 178 

25, 178 

. 179 

. 180 

. 180 

. 180 

. 181 

. 205 

. 185 

. 205 



213 



EPOCH IV. 



[1846. 



1846. 



1847. 



1848. 



1849. 
1850. 



1853. 
1854. 

1857. 
1858. 
1859. 
1860. 
1861. 



PASS 

Battle of Palo Alto, May 8, 185 

Battle of Resaca de la Palma, May 9, . . . . 185 

Congress declared war against Mexico, May 11, , . 186 

Monterey captured, September 24, 186 

Iowa admitted to the Union, December 28, . . . 206 

Battle of Buena Vista, February 23, .... 186 

Vera Cruz captured, March 29, 188 

Battle of Cerro Gordo, April 18, 188 

Battle of Contreras, August 20, . . . . . 189 

Capture of Chapultepec, September 13, ... . 189 

Mexico surrendered, September 14, 189 

Treaty of peace with Mexico, February 2, . . . 190 

Gold discovered in California, February, . ', . . 190 

Wisconsin admitted to the Union, May 29, . . . 206 
General Taylor inaugurated, March 5, . . . .191 

General Taylor died, July 9, 191 

Millard Fillmore inaugurated, July 16, . . . . 191 

California admitted to the Union, September 9, . . 206 

Franklin Pierce inaugurated, March 4, . . . . 194 

Commodore Perry's treaty with Japan, March, . . 195 

Kansas-Nebraska Bill passed. May, 195 

James Buchanan inaugurated, March 4, . . . . 196 

Minnesota admitted to the Union, May 11, . . . 208 

Oregon admitted to the Union, February 14, . . . 208 

South Carolina seceded from the Union, December 20, . 198 

Steamer Star of the West fired upon, January 9, . . 200 

Kansas admitted into the Union as a State, January 29, . 209 

Southern Confederacy formed at M^ontgomery, Feb. 4, , 19& 



REFERENCES FOR READING. 

L^ssing's Field Book of the War of 1812. — Lewis and Clarke's yournal. — Mac- 
kenzie's Life of Paul foiics. — Parton's Life of Jackson; also of Aaron Burr. — 
Cooper's History of the American Navy. — Irving' s Astoria.- — PowelFs Life of Tay- 
lor. —Fremont's Explorations. — Benton's 30 Years View of Ptiblic Affairs. — Street 
and Reid s Osceola {Poem). — Ripley's War with Mexico.— HulP s Military and 
Civil Life. — Parker'' s Historic Americans. — Lossing's Eminent Americans. — Mc- 
Pherson's Political History of the United States.— To7ne^s Battles of America by 
Sea and La?id. — Lowell's Bigelow Papers. — The Exiles of Florida^ by Giddings. — 
Jay's Mexican War and Dawsoti's American Battle-fields. — " The Mississippi 
Scheme" in Mackay's Popular Delusions. — Mrs. John Ada}ns''s Correspondence.— 
Headley''s Second War with England. — Wkittier^s Angel of Buena Vista {Poetry). — 
Randall's and Tucker's Lives of Jefferson.— Griswold's Court of Washington. — 
Clarke' s Campaign of 1812. — IngersolPs Second War -with Great Britain. — Wilsott'i 
Sketches of Illustrious Soldiers. — Martin's Civil Government {Constitution ofU, S.), 



Longitude 87 West fro 



•Qufncy . *, 

[spr.ngf!^^ map to illustrate 
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2; r^ 2oon,-in^^ ,t5^SON (^ ^ SCALE OF MILES 



^ 



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20 



pf'vafla 



I^banou 



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CJinton^ Warsaw .^yT' ^/ y^ lsta,ouis > 

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i- /f-^r»^'ya Poplar Blu/AxT Betoon 2co-\"«>^^ ^^ , ^e/' 

'."^.W" N <..? :>* 1 A£?HicTtman Kf^'ff*-' — j=n..-— _... 



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^%w JaclsonY Coh^\^'>ee5 

■^ .-.-.I. Jl£°t^avann^!?/ • ^Fayettevme^ 

Holly. Corinth. '^^llrej^coH'-hTelTn^S 



Springs 



luka* 



Tuscunitia ^ 




Jacob H^elU, Del. 



Copyri/ht. 1S70, 




Bams d- Co., New York 



Epoch V. 

THE CIVIL WAR. 



From 1861 — Inauguration of Lincoln, 
To 1865 — Surrender of Lee's Army. 



LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1861-1865.) 

NAUGURATION. — Eumor of a 

plan to assassinate Lincoln impelled 
him to come to Washington in dis- 
guise. He was inaugurated March 
4, 1861, surrounded by troops under 
the command of General Scott. 
Condition of the Country. — All 
was now uncertainty. The south- 
em officers in the army and navy 
of the United States were daily re- 
signing, and linking their fortunes with the Confederate cause. 




y^:^n 



Questions oti ike Geography of i/ie Fiflk Epoch.— "Loc^Xe, the following 
places noted as battle-fields. Names of places in italic letters, as well as the Battles 
before Richmond, may be found on pages 336 and 261. Philippi. Big Bethel. Boonville 
(Booneville). Carthage. Rich Mountain. BuURun. Wilson's Creek. Hatteras Inlet. 
Lexington, Mo. Ball's Bluff. Belmont. Port Royal. Mill Spring. Fort Heliry. 
Roanoke Island. Fort Donelson. Pea Ridge. New Berne (Newberne). Winchester. 
Pittsburg Landing. Island No. 10. Fort Pulaski. Fort Jackson. Fort Macon. Beau- 
fort. Yorktown. Williamsburg. Corinth. Fair Oaks. Mechanicsville. Gaines's Mill. 
Malvern Hill. Cedar Mountain. South Mountain. Antietam. Fredericksburg. Holly 
Springs. Murfreesboro. Galveston. Fort Sumter (see map, p. 280). Chancellorsville. 
Vicksburg. Gettysburg. Port Hudson. Chickamauga. Chattanooga. Knoxville. 
Fort de Russy. Sabine Cross Roads. Fort Pillow. Wilderness. Bermuda Hun- 
dred. Spottsylvania Court House. Resaca. Dallas. Cold Harbor. Lost Mountain. 
Petersburg. Atlanta. Mobile. Fovt Gaines. Fort Morgan. Cedar Creek. Fort 
McAlister (or McAllister). Nashville. Savannah. Fort Fisher. Columbia. Golds- 
boro. Fort Steadman. Five Forks. Appomattox Court House. (The battles above 
are named in chronological ordjr.) 



* Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809 ; died in Washington, 



216 EPOCH V. [1861. 

There was still, however, a strong Union sentiment at the 
South. Many prominent men in both sections hoped that 
war might be averted. The Federal authorities feared to act, 
lest they should precipitate civil strife. In striking contrast 
to this indecision was the marked energy of the new Confed- 
erate government. It was gathering troops, voting money 
and supplies, and rapidly preparing for the issue. 

Capture of Fort Sumter (April 14). — ^Finding that su]> 
plies were to be sent to Fort Sumter, General Peter G. T, 
Beauregard (bo-re-gard), who had command of the Confed- 
erate troops at Charleston, called upon Major Anderson to 
surrender. Upon his refusal, fire was opened from all the 
Confederate forts and batteries.* This "strange contest 
between seventy men and seven thousand," lasted for thirty- 
four hours, no one being hurt on either side. The barracks 

April 15, 1865. His father was unable to read or write, and his own education con- 
sisted of one-year's schooling. When he was eight years old his father moved to 
Indiana, the family floating down the Ohio on a raft. When nineteen years of age, 
the future President hired out as a hand on a flat-boat at $10 per month, and made a 
trip to New Orleans. On his return he accompanied the family to Illinois, driving 
the cattle on the journey. Having reached their destination he helped them to build 
a cabin, and to split rails to enclose the farm. He was now in succession a flat-boat 
hand, clerk, captain of a company of volunteers in the Black Hawk War, country 
store-keeper, postmaster, and surveyor, yet he managed to get a knowledge of law by 
borrowing books at an office before it closed at uight, returning them at its opening 
in the morning. On being admitted to the bar, he rapidly rose to distinction. At 
twenty-five he was sent to the Legislature, and was thrice re-elected. Tuniing his 
attention to politics, he soon became a leader. He was sent to Congress ; he can- 
vassed the State, addressing the people daily on great national questions ; and, in 
1858, he was candidate for Senator, a second time, against Stephen A. Douglas. The 
two rivals stumped the State together. The debate, unrivalled for its statesmanship, 
logic, and wit, won for Lincoln a national reputation, but he lost the election in the 
Legislature, his party being in the minority. After his accession to the Presidency, 
his history, like Washington's, is identified with that of his country. He was a tall, 
ungainly man, little versed in the refinements of society, but gifted by nature with 
great common sense, and everywhere known as "Honest Abe." Kind, earnest, 
sympathetic, faithful, democratic, he was anxious only to serve his country. His 
wan, fatigued face, and his bent form, told of the cares he bore, and the grief he felt. 
His only relief was when, tossing aside for a moment the heavy load of responsi- 
bility, his face would light up with a humorsome smile, while he narrated some 
-incident whose irresistible wit and aptness to the subject at hand, convulsed his 
hearers, and rendered " Lincoln's stories " household words throughout the nation. 
* The first gun of the war was fired at half-past four o'clock Friday morninp:, 
AprU la, ISfil. 



l86l.] THE CIVIL WAE. 317 

having been set on fire by the shells, the garrison worn out, 
suffocated, and half -blinded, were forced to capitulate. They 
were allowed to retire with the honors of war, saluting their 
flag before hauling it down. 

The Effect of this event was electrical. It unified the 
North and also the South. The war spirit swept over the 
country like wild-fire. Party lines vanished. The Union 
men at the South were borne into secession, while the repub- 
licans and democrats at the North combined for the support 
of the government. Lincoln issued a requisition for seventy- 
five thousand troops. It was responded to by three hundred 
thousand volunteers, the American flag, the symbol of Eevolu- 
tionary glory and of national unity, being unfurled through- 
out the North. The military enthusiasm at the South was 
equally ardent. Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and 
Tennessee, which had before hesitated, Joined the Confed- 
eracy. Virginia troops seized the United States armory at 
Harper's Ferry, and the Navy Yard at Norfolk. * Eichmond, 
Va., was made the Confederate capital. Troops from the 
extreme South were rapidly pushed into Virginia, and threat- 
ened Washington. A regiment of Massachusetts militia 
hurrying to the defence of the national capital, was attacked 
in the streets of Baltimore, and several men were killed, f 
Thus the first blood shed in the civil war was on April 19, 
the anniversary of Lexington and Concord. 

THE WAR IN VIRGINIA. 
Arlington Heights and Alexandria^ were seized (May 24) 

* Here were foundries, ship-yards, machine shops, two thousand cannon, two 
hundred and fifty thousand pounds of gunpowder, great quantities of shot and shell, 
and twelve ships of war. The ships were scuttled or fired, but vast stores, which 
were of inestimable value at the beginning of the war, fell into the Confederate 
hands. 

+ A Union soldier who was shot in this affray, turned about, saluted the flag, and 
exclaiming, "All hail the stars and stripes 1 " fell lifeless. 

% Alexandria was occupied by Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth and his Zouaves. After 



218 • EPOCH Y. [1861. 

by the national troops. This protected Washington from any 
immediate danger of attack.* Fortress Monroef was now 
garrisoned by a heavy force under General B. F. Butler. J An 
expedition made soon after against Big Bethel was singularly 
mismanaged. On the route the troops fired into each other 
by mistake, and when they came to attack the Confederate 
defences, they were repulsed with loss. § 

Western Virginia adhered to the Union, and was ulti- 
mately formed into a separate State. The Confederates, how- 
ever, occupied it in force. The Federals, under General 
George B. McClellan, afterward commander of the Potomac 
army, defeated them at Pliilippi, Rich Mountain, and Car- 
rick's Ford, thus wresting the entire State from their con- 
trol. Shortly afterward, Governor Wise and General Floyd 
(President Buchanan's Secretary of War) led a Confederate 
force into that region ; but Floyd was suddenly attacked by 
General Eosecrans at Carnifex Ferry, and. Wise failing to 
support him, was compelled to retreat. General Kobert E. 
Lee, McClellan's future antagonist on the Potomac, having 
been repulsed at Cheat Mountain (September 14), now came 
to the rescue. Nothing decisive being effected, the Confed- 
erate government recalled their forces. The only Union vic- 
tories of this year were achieved in this region (map oj)p. p. 223). 

tbe capture, seeing the Confederate flag still flying from the roof of a hotel, he went 
up and took it down. As he descended, he was shot at the foot of the stairs, by the 
landlord, Jackson, who in turn fell at the hands of private BrowuelL 

* Alexandria is on the southern side of the Potomac, eight miles below Washing- 
ton. Arlington Heights are directly opposite the capital 

t This is located at the entrance of the Chesapeake, and is the most formidable 
fortification in the United States. It covers over sixty acres of ground, and is nearly 
a mile in circuit. Its walls are of granite, thirty-five feet high. Its garrison, at this 
time, consisted of a small body of artillerists, under General Dimick. 

X At Hampton, which had been occupied by the Confederates, some negroes were 
captured who had been employed in building fortifications. Butler declared them 
" contraband of war," and this gave rise to the popular term, " Contrabands." 

§ In this attack. Major Theodore Winthrop, who had achieved some literary 
reputation, was killed ; as was, also, Lieutenant Greble, who gave great promisa as 
an officer. 



i86i.] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



219 



Battle of Bull Run (July 21). — The Northern people, 
seeing so many regiments pushed forward to Washington, 
were impatient for an advance. The cry, " On to Richmond I" 
became too strong to be resisted. General Irvin McDowell, 
in command of the Army of the Potomac, moved to attack 
the main body of the Confederates, who were strongly 
posted under Beauregard at Bull Run.* After a sharp 
conflict the Confederates were driven from the field. They 




STONEWALL JACKSON AT BULL RUN. 



were rallied, however, by General T. J. Jackson f and others, 
on a plateau in the rear. While the Federal troops were 
struggling to drive them from this new position, at the crisis 
of the battle, seventeen hundred men, under Kirby Smith, 



* This is near Manassas Junction, about twenty-seven miles from Alexandria. 

+ General Bee, as lie ralliitd his men, shouted, "There's Jackson standing like a 
stone wall." "From that time," says Draper, "the name he had received in a bap- 
tism of fire displaced that he had received in a baptism of water, and he was known 
08 'Stonewall Jackson.' " 



220 EPOCH V. [1861. 

rushing across the fields from Manassas Station,* struck the 
Union flank and poured in a cross fire. The effect was irre- 
sistible. McDowell's men fled. As the fugitives converged 
toward the bridge in the rear, a shell burst among the team- 
sters' wagons, a caisson was overturned, and the passage 
choked. The retreat now became a panic-stricken rout. 
Traces were cut, cannon abandoned, mounted men went 
plunging through the struggling mass, and soldiers threw 
away their guns and ran streaming over the country, many 
never stopping till they were safe across the Long Bridge at 
Washington. 

The Effect of this defeat was momentous. At first the 
Northern people w^ere chagrined and disheartened. Then 
came a renewed determination. They saw the real character 
of the war, and no longer dreamed that the South could be 
subdued by a mere disj)lay of military force. They were to 
fight a brave people — Americans — who were to be conquered 
only by a desperate struggle. Congress voted 1500,000,000 
and five hundred thousand men. General McClellan, f upon 
whom all eyes were turned, on account of his brilliant cam- 
paign in Western Virginia, was appointed to the command 
of the Army of the Potomac. 

Ball's Bluff (October 21). — About two thousand Federals, 
who had crossed the Potomac at Ball's Bluff on a reconnoiter- 
ing expedition, were attacked by the Confederates, and forced 
down the slippery, clayey bluff, fifty to one hundred and fifty 
feet high, to the river below. The two old scows in which 
they came were soon sunk, and, in trying to escape, many 
were drowned, some were shot, and scarcely half their num- 

* These troops composed a part of General Johnston's command at Winchester. 
General Patterson, with twenty thousand men, had been left to watch him, and pre- 
vent his joining Beauregard. Johnston was too shrewd for his antagonist, and, 
slipping out of his hands, reached Bull Run in time to decide the battle. 

+ Soon after. General Scott, weighed down by age, retired from active service, and 
General McClellan became General-in-Chief of all the armies of the United States. 



l86l.] THE CIVIL WAE. 221 . 

ber reached the other bank. Colonel Baker, United States 
Senator from Oregon, was among the killed.* 

THE WAR IN MISSOURI. 

This State was largely Union. The Convention had de- 
clined to pass an ordinance of secession ; yet there was a 
strong effort made by Governor Jackson to preserve, at least, 
an armed neutrality. Captain Lyon foiled this attempt. He 
broke up Camp Jackson, saved the United States arsenal at 
St. Louis, and defeated Colonel Marmaduke at BooneviUe 
(June 17). General Sigel (se-gel), however, having been de- 
feated by the Confederates in an engagement at Carthage 
(July 5), Lyon, now General, found that he must either fight 
the superior forces of Generals McCuUoch and Price, or else 
abandon that part of the State. He chose the former course. 
At the head of about five thousand he attacked more than 
twice that number at Wilso7i's Creeh (August 10). He fell, 
gallantly leading a bayonet charge. His men were defeated. 
Colonel Mulligan was forced to surrender Lexington f after 
a brave defence. General John C. Fremont now assumed 
charge, and drove Price as far south as Springfield. Just as 
he was preparing for battle, he was replaced by General Hun- 
ter, who took the Union army back to St. Louis. Hunter was 
soon superseded by General Halleck, who crowded Price south 
to Arkansas. Later in the fall. General Grant made an unsuc- 
cessful attack upon a Confederate force which had crossed over 
from Kentucky;]: and taken post at Belmont (map opp. p. 223). 

* December 20, General E. O. C. Ord, having gone out on a foraging excursion to 
Branesville, in a severe skirmish routed the Confederates. This little victory greatly 
encouraged the people at the North, who had been disheartened by the disastrous 
affair of Ball's Bluff. 

+ The Confederates, in their final assault, fought behind a movable breastwork, 
composed of hemp-bales, which they rolled toward the fort as they advanced. 

t Kentucky, like Missouri, had tried to remain neutral, but was unsuccessful. 
Soon both Confederate and Union troops were encamped on her soU, and the State 



222 EPOCH Y. [1861. 



THE WAR ON THE SEA AND COAST. 

Early in the war, Davis issued a proclamation offering to 
commission privateers. * In reply, Lincoln declared a block- 
ade of the Southern ports. At that time there was but one 
efficient vessel on the Northern coast, and only forty-two 
ships in the United States navy ; but at the close"" of the year 
there were two hundred and sixty-four. 

Two joint naval and military expeditions were made during 
the year. The first captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet, N. C. 
The second, under Commodore Dupont and General Thomas 
W. Sherman, took the forts at Port Royal Entrance, S. C.,f 
and Tybee island, at the mouth of the Savannah. Port 
Eoyal became the great depot for the Union fleet. 

The Trent Affair. — England and France had acknowl- 
edged the Confederate States as 'belligerents, thus placing 
them on the same footing with the United States. The 
Southern people having, therefore, great hopes of foreign aid, 
appointed Messrs. Mason and Slidell commissioners to those 
countries. Escaping through the blockading squadron, 
they took passage at Havana on the British steamer Trent. 
Captain Wilkes, of the United States steamer San Jacinto, 

was ravaged by hostile armies. In all the border States affairs were in a most 
lamentable condition. The people were divided in opinion, and enlisted in both 
armies. As the tide of war surged to and fro, armed bands swept through the coun- 
try, plundering and murdering those who favored the opposite party. 

* The Savannah was the first privateer which got to sea, but this vessel was cap- 
tured after having taken only a single prize. The Petrel, also from Charleston, bore 
do-wn upon the United States frigate St. Lawrence, which the captain mistook for a 
merchant ship ; his vessel was sunk by the first broadside of his formidable antag- 
onist. The Sumter, under Captain Semmes, captured and burned a large number of 
Federal ships, but, at last, it was blockaded in the Bay of Gibraltar by a Union gun- 
boat, and, being unable to escape, was sold. 

t During this engagement the ships described a circle between the forts, each vessel 
delivering its fire as it slowly sailed by, then passing on, and another taking Its place. 
The line of this circle was constantly changed to prevent the Confederates from get- 
ting the range of the vessels. 



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l86l.] THE CIVIL WAK. 223 

followed the Trent, took off the Confederate envoys, and 
brought them back to the United States. This produced 
intense excitement in England. The United States govern- 
ment, however, promptly disavowed the act and returned the 
prisoners. 

General Review of the First Year of the War. — 
The Confederates had captured the large arsenals at Harper's 
Ferry and Norfolk. They had been successful in the two 
great battles of the year — Bull Kun and Wilson's Creek ; 
also in the minor engagements at Big Bethel, Carthage, Lex- 
ington, Belmont, and Ball's Bluff. The Federals had saved 
Fort Pickens * and Fortress Monroe, and had captured the 
forts at Hatteras Inlet and Port Eoyal. They had gained 
the victories of Philippi, Kich Mountain, Booneville, Car- 
rick's Ford, Cheat Mountain, Carnifex Ferry, and Dranes- 
ville. They had saved to the Union Missouri, Maryland, 
and West Virginia. Principally, however, they had thrown 
the whole South into a state of siege — the armies on the 
north and west by land, and the navy in the east by sea, 
maintaining a vigilant blockade. 

1862. 

The Situation. — The national army now numbered 
500,000 ; the Confederate, about 350,000. During the first 
year there had been random fighting ; the war henceforth 
assumed a general plan. The year's campaign on the part 
of the North had three main objects : (1) the opening of the 
Mississippi ; (2) the blockade of the Southern ports ; and (3) 
the capture of Eichmond. 

* This fort was situated near Pensacola. Lieutenant Slemmer, seeing that an 
attack was about to be made upon him, transfeiTed his men from Fort McRae, an 
untenable position, to Port Pickens, an almost impregnable fortification, whicU he 
held until reinforcements arrived. 



224 



EPOCH V. 



[1862. 



^ 




VIEW OF RICHMOND, VA. 



THE WAR IN THE WEST. 

The Confederates here held a line of defence with strongly 
fortified posts at Columbus, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, 
Bowling Green, Mill Spring, and Cumberland Gap. It was 
determined to pierce this line near the centre, along the 
Tennessee River. This would compel the evacuation of 
Columbus, which was deemed impregnable, and open the 
way to Nashville (map opp. p. 222). 

Capture of Forts Henry and Donelson. — Accord- 
ingly, General Grant with his army, and Commodore Foote 
with his gunboats, moved from Cairo (ka'-ro) upon Fort 
Henry.* A bombardment (Feb. 6) from the gunboats re- 

* As a part of the general movement, in January General Tjomas had advanced 
against Mill Springs, and on the 19th driven out the Confederate force at that place, 
with the loss of General Zollicoffer (tsol'-le-ko-fer), a favorite Southern leader. 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAR. 235 

duced the place in about an hour. The land troops were to 
cut off the retreat ; but as they did not arrive in time, the 
garrison escaped to Fort Donelson. The fleet now went 
back to the Ohio, and ascended the Cumberland, while Grant 
crossed to co-operate in an attack on Fort Donelson. The 
fight lasted three days. * The fleet was repulsed by the fire 
from the fort, and Commodore Foote seriously wounded. 
Grant, having been reinforced till he had nearly thirty thou- 
sand men, defeated the Confederates in an attempt to cut 
their way out, and captured a part of their intrenchments. 
As he was about to make the final assault, the fort was sur- 
rendered f (Feb. 16), with about fifteen thousand men. 

Effect oftJiese Victories. — As was expected, Columbus and 
Bowling Green were evacuated, while General Buell at once 
occupied IS'ashville. The Confederates fell back to Corinth, 
the great railroad centre for Mississippi and Tennessee, where 
their forces were gradually collected under the command of 
Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and Beauregard. The 
Union army ascended the Tennessee to Pittsburg Landing. 
Grant was placed in command, and General Buell ordered to 
reinforce him. 

The next movement was to capture the Memphis and 
Charleston railroad, thus cutting off Memphis and securing 
another section of the Mississippi Eiver. 

Battle of Shiloh (April 6, 7).— The Confederates de- 
termined to rout Grant's army before the arrival of Buell. 

* For four nights of inclement winter weather, amid snow and sleet, with no tents, 
pbelter, fire, and many with no blankets, these hardy western troops maintained their 
position. The wounded suffered intensely, and numbers of them froze to death as 
they lay on the icy ground. 

t When General Buckner, commander of the fort, wrote to General Grant, offering 
capitulation, Grant replied that no terms would be received except an " unconditional 
surrender," and that he " proposed to move immediately upon their works." These 
expressions have been much quoted, and U. S. Grant has been often said to signify 
" Unconditional Surrender Grant." 



226 EPOCH V. [1862, 

On Sunday morning, at daylight, moving out of the woods 
in line of battle, they suddenly fell on the Union camps.* 
On the one side were the Southern dash, daring, and 
vigor ; on the other, the Northern firmness and determina- 
tion. The Federals slowly yielded, but for twelve hours 
obstinately disputed every inch of the way. At last, pushed 
to the very brink of the river. Grant massed his artillery, and 
gathered aboiit it the fragments of regiments for the final 
stand. The Confederates, to meet them, had to cross a 
deep ravine, where, struggling through the mud and water, 
they melted away under the fire of cannon and musketry 
from above, and the shells from the gunboats below. Few 
reached the slippery bank beyond. At the same time, 
Buell's advance came shouting on the field. The tide of 
battle was stayed. The Confederates fell back. They pos- 
sessed, however, all the substantial fruits of victory. They 
had taken the Union camps, three thousand prisoners, thirty 
flags, and immense stores ; but they had lost their com- 
mander. General Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell in the 
heat of the action (map opp. p. 222). 

The next morning the tide turned. Buell's army had 
come, and fresh troops were poured on the wearied Confed- 
erates. Beauregard, obstinately resisting, was driven from 
the field. He retreated, however, in good order, and, un- 
molested, returned to Corinth. 

* On the very heels of the pickets, who rushed in to give the ^larm, came the 
shells, and then, pouring at double-quick from the woods, the regular lines of battle. 
Whether or not this attack was a surprise, has been one of the mooted questions 
of the war. Le Comte de Paris said, " The surprise was complete and unquestion- 
able ; the Union commanders sought in vain to excuse themselves;" and it was 
currently stated at the time that so unexpected was the attack that many of the 
" men were bayoneted in their beds." On the other hand. General Sherman asserts 
that his " troops were in line of battle and ready " before the engagement began, and 
he personally assures the writer that after the battle he offered in vain a reward for 
the body of any person killed by a bayonet-wound. General Grant, also, denies that 
the attack was a surprise to him, and declares that so well satisfied was he with the 
result of the first day's struggle, that at night he gave orders for a forward movement 
early in the morning. 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAR. 227 

General Halleck now assumed command, and by slow 
stages followed the Confederates. Beauregard, finding him- 
self outnumbered, evacuated Corinth, and Halleck took 
possession (May 30). 

Island No. 10. — The Confederates, on retreating from 
Columbus, fell back to Island No. 10.* There they were 
bombarded by Commodore Foote for three weeks, with little 
effect. General Pope, crossing the Mississippi f in the midst 
of a fearful rain-storm, took the batteries on the opposite 
bank, and prepared to attack the fortifications in the rear. 
The garrison, seven thousand strong, surrendered (April 7) 
the very day of the conflict at Shiloh. 

The Effects of the desperate battle at Shiloh were now 
fully apparent. J The Union gunboats moved down the 
river and (May 10) defeated the Confederate iron-clad fleet. 
On the evacuation of Corinth, Fort Pillow was abandoned. 
The gunboats, proceeding, destroyed the Confederate flotilla 
in front of Memphis, took possession of that city, and secured 
the Memphis and Charleston railroad. The great State of 
Kentucky and all Western Tennessee had been wrenched 
from the Confederacy. The Union army § now held a line 

* The islands in tlie Mississippi are ntunbered in order from tlie mouth of the Ohio 
to New Orleans. 

t Pope, with his army, was on the Missouri side of the river. He could not cross, 
as the Confederate batteries were planted on the opposite shore. 
A canal was therefore dug through Donaldson's Point. It was 
twelve miles long and fifty feet wide. Part of the distance was 
among heavy timber, where the trees had to be cut off four 
feet below the surface of the water. Yet the work was accom- 
plished in nineteeu days. Through this canal steamboats and 
barges were safely transferred below the newly-made island, 
while the two largest gunboats ran the batteries. Under their Donaldson's point, 
protection Pope crossed the river. ^^° island no. io. 

X Besides the results here named, the concentration of troops at Corinth had ab- 
sorbed the troops from the South. Thus New Orleans, as we shall see hereafter, fell 
an easy prey to Farragut. 

§ Gen. Halleck having been called to Washington as General-in-Chief of the armies 
of the United States, General Grant was appointed to the command of this army. 




228 EPOCH V. [1862. 

running from Memphis, through Corinth, nearly to Chatta- 
nooga, toward which point General Buell was steadily push- 
ing his troops. We shall next consider the efforts made by 
the Confederates to break through this line of investment. 
At this time they were concentrated under Bragg at Chatta- 
nooga, Price at luka, and Van Dorn at Holly Springs. 

Bragg's Expedition. — The first movement was made by 
General Bragg, who with rapid marches, hastened toward 
Louisville. General Buell fell back to Nashville, where he 
found out his enemy's plan. Now commenced a race between 
them of three hundi'ed miles. Buell came out one day ahead. 
He was heavily reinforced to the number of one hundred 
thousand men. Bragg* then fell back, Buell slowly follow- 
ing. At Perryville (October 8), Bragg fiercely turned upon 
Buell, and a desperate battle was fought. In the darkness, 
however, Bragg retreated, and finally escaped, though his 
wagon train extended a distance of forty miles. At this junc- 
ture (October 31), General Buell was superseded by General 
Eosecrans. 

Battles of luka and Corinth (September 19, October 4). 
— Every one of Grant's veterans who could possibly be spared 
had been sent north to help Buell. Price and Van Dorn, 
taking advantage of the opportunity, were manoeuvring to 
get possession of Corinth. Grant, thinking that he could 
capture Price and then get back to Corinth before Van Dorn 
could reach it from Holly Springs, ordered Eosecrans to 
move upon luka. Through some mistake, Eosecrans failed 
to occuj)y Price's line of retreat, and after a severe conflict 
(Sept. 19), the latter escaped. Thereupon the two Confed- 

* At Frankfort, Bragg was joined by the part of his army under Kirby Smith, who 
had marched from Knoxville, routed a Union force under General Manson at Rich- 
mond, Ky., inflicting a loss of six thousand, and had then moved north as far as 
Cynthiana. There he threatened to attack Cincinnati, but was repelled by the exten- 
Bive preparation made by General Lew Wallace. 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAR. 239 

erate generals joined their forces, and attacked Eosecrans in 
his intrenchments at Corinth. The Confederates exhibited 
brilliant courage,* but were defeated, and pursued forty 
miles with heavy loss. 

Battle of Murfreesboro (December 31, January 2). — 
Eosecrans, on assuming command of Buell's army, concen- 
trated his forces at Nashville. Thence he marched to meet 
Bragg, who, with a heavy column moving north on a second 
grand expedition, had already reached Murfreesboro (map 
opp. p. 222). Both generals had formed the same plan f for 
the approaching contest. As the Union left was crossing 
Stone Eiver to attack the Confederate right, the strong Con- 
federate left fell heavily on the weak Union right. At first 
the onset was irresistible. But Gen. Sheridan was there, and 
by his consummate valor held his ground until Eosecrans 
could recall the left, replant his batteries, and establish a new 
line. Upon this fresh front the Confederates charged four 
times, but were driven back with very great loss. Two days 
after, Bragg renewed the attack, but being unsuccessful, 
retreated. This was one of the bloodiest contests of the war, 
the loss being one-fourth of the number engaged. 

Tlie Effect of this Battle. — The attempt of the Confederates 
to recover Kentucky was now abandoned. The way was open 

* The Texas and Missouri troops made a heroic charge upon Fort Robinette. 
They advanced to within fifty yards of the intrenchments. received a shower of grape 
and canister without flinching, and were driven back only when the Ohio brigade 
poured a full volley of musketry into their ranks. They were then rallied by Colonel 
Rogers, of the Second Texas, who, at their head, led them to a fresh charge up through 
the abattis, when, with the colors in his hand, he sprang upon the embankment and 
cheered on his men. An instant more and he fell, with five brave fellows who had 
dared to leap to his side in this desperate assault. The Union troops admiringly 
buried his remains, and neatly rounded off the little mound where they laid the hero 
to rest. 

t This coincidence reminds one of the battle of Camden (see p. 133). The plan was 
to mass the strength on the left, and with that to fall upon and crush the enemy's 
right. The advantage clearly lay with the army which struck first. Bragg secured 
the initiative, and Rosecrans's only course was to give up all thought of an attack 
and to save his right and centre from a roat 



330 EPOCH V. [1862. 

for another Union adyance on Chattanooga. Bragg's force 
was reduced from an offensive to a defensive attitude. 

First Vicksburg Expedition. — While Eosecrans was 
repelling this advance of Bragg, an expedition against Vicks- 
burg had been planned by Grant. He was to move along the 
Mississippi Central Kailroad, while Sherman was to descend 
the river from Memphis with the gunboats under Porter. 
In the meantime, however, by a brilliant cavalry dash, Van 
Dorn destroyed Grant's depot of supplies at Holly Springs. 
This spoiled the whole plan. Sherman, ignorant of what 
had happened, pushed on, landed up the Yazoo River, and 
made an attack at Chickasaw Bayou (bl-ob), north of Vicks- 
burg. After suffering a bloody repulse, and learning of 
Grant's misfortune, he fell back. The capture of Arkansas 
Post (Jan. 11, 1863) by a combined army and naval force, 
closed the campaign of 1862 on the Mississippi River. 

The War in Missouri. — In February, General Curtis 
pushed General Price out of Missouri into Arkansas. The 
Confederates, by great exertion, increased their army to 
twenty thousand — General Van Dorn now taking command. 
General Curtis, in a desperata battle, totally defeated him at 
Fea Ridge* (March 7, 8). During the rest of the war no 
important battles were fought in this State, f 

THE WAR ON THE SEA AND THE COAST. 

Capture of New Orleans (April 25). — The effort to 
open the Mississippi was not confined to the north. Early in 

* Some four or five thousand Indians had joined the Confederate army, and took 
part in this battle. They were difficult to manage, says Pollard, in the deafening roar 
of the artillery, which drowned their loudest war-whoops. They were amazed at the 
Bight of guns which ran around on wheels ; annoyed by the falling of the trees behind 
which they took shelter ; and, in a word, their main service was in consuming rations. 

+ The next year, Quantrell, a noted guerrilla, with three hundred rn^n, entered 
Lawrence, Kansas, plundered the bank, burned houses, and murdered one hundred 
and forty persons. Before a sufficient force could be gathered, he escaped. 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAR. 231 

the spring, Captain Farragut, with a fleet of forty-four vessels, 
carrying eight thousand troops under General Butler, at- 
tempted the capture of New Orleans, which commands the 
mouth of the river. The mortar-boats,* anchored along the 
bank under the shelter of the woods, threw thirteen-inch shells 
into Forts Jackson and St. Philip for six days and nights, with 
little effect. Farragut then boldly resolved to carry the fleet 
past the defences to New Orleans. A chain supported on 
hulks and stretched across the river closed the channel. An 
opening broad enough to admit the passage of the gunboatsf 
having been cut through this obstruction, at three o'clock 
in the morning (April 24) they advanced, and poured grajae 
and canister into the forts at short range, receiving in return 
heavy volleys from the forts and batteries on shore. After 
running a fearful gauntlet of shot, shell, and the flames of 
fire-rafts, they next encountered the Confederate fleet of thir- 
teen armed steamers, including the steam-battery Louisiana 
and the iron-plated ram Manassas. After a desperate struggle 
twelve of the Confederate flotilla were destroyed. The fleet 
then steamed up to New Orleans,J which lay helpless under 

* To conceal the vessels, they were dressed out with leafy branches, which, except 
by close observation, rendered them undistingfuishable from the green woods. The 
direction had been accurately calculated, so that the gunners did not need to see the 
points towards which they were to aim. So severe was the bombardment that "win- 
dows at the Balize, thirty miles distant, were broken. Fish, stunned by the explo- 
sion, lay floating on the surface of the water." 

t The vessels were made partly iron-clad by looping two layers of chain cables 
over their sides, and their engines were protected by bags of sand, coal, etc. 

t Steamers, ships, vast quantities of cotton, etc., were burned by the order of the 
governor of Louisiana, and the military commander of the Confederate States, to 
prevent their falling into Federal hands. Pollard says : " No sooner had the Federal 
fleet turned the point and come within sight of the city, than the work of destruction 
commenced. Vast columns of smoke darkened the face of heaven and obscu'-ed the 
noonday sun ; for five miles along the levee fierce flames darted through the lurid 
atmosphere. Great ships and steamers wrapped in fire floated down the river, 
threatening the Federal vessels with destruction. Fifteen thousand bales of cotton, 
worth one million and a half of dollars, were consumed. About a dozen large river 
steamboats, twelve or fifteen ships, a great floating battery, several unfinished gun- 
boats, the immense ram Mississippi, and the docks on the other side of the river, 
were all embraced in the fieiy sacrifice." 



332 



EPOCH V. 



[l86z 




VIEW OF NEW ORLEANS. 



the Union gnns. The forts being now threatened in the rear 
by the army, soon surrendered. Captain Farragnt afterward 
ascended the river, took possession of Baton Eouge and 
Natchez, and, running the batteries at Vicksburg, Joined the 
Union fleet above. 

Burnside's Expedition against Roanoke Island* 
was an imjjortant step towaj'd the enforcement of the blockade. 
The Confederate forts were captured, and the ships destroyed. 
Newbern — an excellent seaport — Elizabeth City, and, finally. 
Fort Macon, at the entrance to Beaufort harbor, were taken. 
Thus all the coast of North Carolina, with its intricate net- 
work of water communication, fell into the Union hands. 



* Roanoke Island, the scene of Ealeigh's colonization scheme, was the key to the 
rear defences of Norfolk. "It unlocked two sounds, eight rivers, four canals, and 
two railroads." It controlled largely the transmission of supplies to that region, 
afforded an excellent harbor and a convenient rendezvous for ships, and exposed a 
large country to attack. 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAR. 233 

Florida and Georgia Expeditions. — After its cap- 
ture in the autumn of 1861, Port Koyal became the base of 
operations against Florida and Georgia. Fernandina, Fort 
Clinch, Jacksonville, Darien, and St. Augustine, were taken. 
Fort Pulaski, also, was reduced after a severe bombardment, 
and thus the port of Savannah was closed. At the end of the 
year every city of the Atlantic sea-coast, except Savannah 
and Charleston, was held by the Federal armies. 

The Merrimac and the Monitor. — About noon, 
March 8, the long-looked-for iron-clad Merrimac,* convoyed 
by a fleet of small vessels, steamed into Hampton Eoads. 
Steering directly for the sloop-of-war Cumberland, whose 
terrific broadsides glanced harmlessly " like so many peas " 
from the Merrimac's iron roof, she struck her squarely with 
her iron beak, making a hole large enough for a man to 
enter. The Cumberland, with all on board, went down.f 
Warned by the fate of the Cumberland, the captain of the 
frigate Congress ran his vessel ashore, but the Merrimac, 
taking a position astern, fired shells into the frigate till 
the heli^less crew were forced to surrender. At sunset, the 
Merrimac returned to Norfolk, awaiting, the next day, an 
easy victory over the rest of the Union fleet. All was delight 
and anticipation among the Confederates ; all was dismay 
and dismal foreboding among the Federals. That night the 
MonitorJ arrived in harbor. Though of but nine hundred 

* When the United States navy-yard at Norfolk was given up, the steam-frigate 
Merrimac, the finest in the service, was scuttled. The Confederates afterward raised 
this vessel, razeed the deck, and added an iron prow and a sloping roof made of rail- 
road iron. The ship thus prepared looked not unlike a great house sunk in the water 
to the eaves. The Federals knew that the Merrimac was fitting for battle, and her 
coming was eagerly expected. 

t As the Cumberland sank, the crew continued to work their guns until the ves- 
sel plunged beneath the sea. Her flag was never struck, but floated above the water 
from the mast-head after she had gone down. 

X This "Yankee cheese-box," as it was nicknamed at the time, was the invention 
of Captain Ericsson. It was a hull, with the deck a few inches above the water, and 



234 EPOCH V. [1862. 

tons burden, slie prepared to' meet her adversary of five 
thousand. Early in the morning the Merrimac appeared, 
moving toward the steam-frigate Minnesota. Suddenly, from 
under her lee, the Monitor darted out, and hurled at the mon- 
ster two one hundred and sixty-eight pound balls. Startled 
by the appearance of this unexpected and queer-looking 
antagonist, the Merrimac poured in a broadside, such as the 
night before had destroyed the Congress, but the balls rattled 




NAVAL DUEL BETWEEN THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC. 

harmlessly off the Monitor's turret, or broke and fell in 
pieces on the deck. Then began the battle of the iron ships. 
It was the first of the kind in the world. Close against each 
other, iron rasping on iron, they exchanged their heaviest 
volleys. Five times the Merrimac tried to run down the 
Monitor, but her huge beak only grated over the iron deck, 
while the Monitor glided out unharmed. Despairing of doing 
anything with her doughty little antagonist, the Merrimac 
now steamed back to Norfolk. * 

in the centre a curious round tower made to revolve slowly by steam-power, thus 
turning in any direction the two guns it contained. The upper part of the hull, which 
was exposed to the enemy's fire, projected several feet beyond the lower part, and 
was made of thick white oak, covered with iron plating six inches thick on the sides 
and two inches on deck. 
• Ab the Merrimac drew off she hurled a last shot, which, striking the Monitor's 



l862,] THE CIVIL WAR. 235 

The Effect of this contest can hardly he overestimated. 
Had the Merrimac triumphed, aided by other iron vessels 
then preparing by the Confederacy, she might have destroyed 
the rest of the Union fleet in Hampton Eoads, reduced For- 
tress Monroe, prevented the Peninsular campaign (see below), 
steamed up the Potomac and terrified the capital, sailed along 
the coast and broken up the blockade, swept through the 
shipping at New York, opened the way for foreign supplies, 
made an egress for cotton, and perhaps secured the acknowl- 
edgment of the Confederacy by European nations. On this 
battle hinged the fate of the war. 

THE WAR IN THE EAST. 

The Peninsular Campaign. — Eichmond was here the 
objective point. It having been decided to make the advance 
by way of the Peninsula, the Army of the Potomac was car- 
ried in transports down* the river from Washington. Landing 
at Fortress Monroe about one hundred thousand strong 
(April 4), they marched toward Yorktown. 

Siege of Yorhtoion. — At this place. General Magruder, 
with only about five thousand men, by his masterly skill 
maintained so bold a front along a line thirteen miles in 
length, that McClellan was brought to a stop. Heavy guns 
were ordered from Washington, and a regular siege was 
begun. As McClellan was ready to open fire, Magruder, 
having delayed the Union army a month, quietly retired, f 

pilot-house, broke a bar of iron nine by twelve inches, seriously injuring the eyes of 
the gallant commander, Lieutenant Worden, who was at that moment looking out 
through a narrow slit and directing the Are of his guns. 

* Previous to this (March 10), McClellan made an advance toward Manassas, where 
the Confederates had remained intrenched since McDowell's defeat. The fortifica- 
tions, which were evacuated on his approach, were found to be quite insignificant, 
and to be mounted partly with "Quaker guns," «. e.. logs shaped and painted to 
imitate artillery. This incident excited much ridicule through the country. 

t On the evacuation of Yorktown— the Confederate forces being concentrated for 



236 



EPOCH V. 



[1862. 




MAP OF THE PENINSULA. 



Wliem the movement was discovered, a vigorous pursuit was 
commenced. 

Battle of Williamsburg (May 5). — The Confederate rear- 
guard, now reinforced from Johnston's* army at Richmond, 
stopped in the forts at Williamsburg to gain 
time for the baggage train, and a fierce battle 

at once ensued. 
General Hooker, 
" Fighting Joe," 
with his divi- 
sion, maintain- 
ed the contest 
for nine hours. 
Other troojDs at 
last arrived on 
the bloody field, 
and, Williamsburg having been evacuated in the night, the 
pursuit was continued to within seven miles of Eichmond. 

Richmond Threatened. — There was a great panic in that 
city, and the Confederate Congress hastily adjourned. Every- 
thing looked like an immediate attack, when McClellan dis- 
covered that a Confederate force was at Hanover Court House. 
This tlireatened his communications by rail with White House 
Landing, and also with Ceneral McDowell, who, with thirty 
thousand men, was marching from Fredericksburg to join him. 
General Fitz John Porter, after a sharp skirmish, captured 
Hanover Court House. The army looked now hourly for 

the defence of Richmond— Norfolk was abandoned, the Navy Yard burned, and the 
Merrimac, the pride of the South, blown up. United States troops from Fortress 
Monroe took possession of the city, and gunboats sailed np James River as far as 
Fort Darling. Here a plunging fire from the bluff forbade further advance. 

* This was General Joseph E. Johnston, who so unexpectedly brought his men to 
take part in the battle of Bull Run (p. 220). He was wounded in the battle of Seven 
Pines, but appeared again in two campaigns against Sherman (pp. 357, 272), General 
Albert Sidney Johnston was killed ia the battle of Shiloh (p. 226). 



l862,] THE CIVIL WAR. 237 

McDowell's aid in tlie approaching great contest. " McClel- 
lan's last orders at night were that McDowell's signals were 
to be watched for and without delay reported to him." But 
General Johnston was too shrewd to permit this junction. 
He accordingly ordered General Jackson to move up the 
Shenandoah Valley and threaten Washington. 

Jackson in the Slienandoali. — Stonewall Jackson having 
been reinforced by General Ewell's division of ten thousand 
men, hurried down the valley after Banks at Strasburg. 
The Union troops fell back, and by tremendous exertion— 
"marching thirty-five miles in a single day" — succeeded in 
escaping across the Potomac. Great was the consternation in 
Washington. The President took mihfcary possession of all 
the railroads. The governors of the Northern States were 
called upon to send militia for the defence of the capital. 
Fremont at Frankhn, Banks at Harper's Ferry, and McDowell 
at Fredericksburg, were ordered to capture Jackson. It was 
high time for this dashing leader to be alarmed. He rapidly 
retreated, burning the bridges as he passed. Fremont 
brought him to bay at Cross Keys (June 8), but was hurled 
off. Shields struck at him at Port Republic, the next day, 
but was driven back five miles, while Jackson made good his 
escape from the Shenandoah Valley, having burned the bridges 
behind him. * 

The Effect of this adroit movement was evident. With fifteen 
thousand men, Jackson had occupied the attention of three 
major-generals and sixty thousand meri, prevented McDowell's 
junction, alarmed Washington, and saved Eichmond. 

* When the Federal forces took possession of the hridge over the Shenandoah, 
Jackson and his staff were on the south side, his army being on the north side. It is 
said that " he rode toward the bridge, and rising in his stirrnps, called sternly to the 
Federal officer commanding the artillery placed to sweep it : ' Who ordered you to 
post that gun there, sir? Bring it over here I ' The bewildered officer bowed, 
limbered up his piece, and prepared to move. Jackson and his staff seized the lucky 
moment and dashed across the bridge before the gun could be brought to bear upon 
them." 



238 EPOCH V. [1862, 

Battle of Fair Oahs (May 31, June 1). — While these stir- 
ring events had been going on in the Shenandoah Valley, 
McClellan had pushed his left wing across the Ohickahominy. 
A terrible storm had flooded the swamps, turned the roads to 
mud, and couYerted the Ohickahominy Creek into a broad 
riyer. Johnston seized the opportunity to fall with tremen- 
dous force upon the exposed wing. At first, the Confederates 
swept all before them, but General Sumner throwing his 
men across the tottering bridges over the Chickahominy, 
checked the column which was trying to seize the bridges 
and thus separate the two portions of the army. General 
Johnston was severely wounded. Night put an end to the 
contest. In the morning, the Confederates renewed the 
attack, but the loss of their general was fatal, and they were 
repulsed in great disorder. 

The Union Army Checked. — General Lee,* who now 
took command of the Confederate army, was anxious to 
assume the offensive. General Stuart led off (June 12) with 
a bold cavalry raid, in which he seized and burned supplies 
along the railroad leading to White House, made the entire 
circuit of the Union army, and returned to Eichmond in 
safety. McClellan also meditated an advance, and Hooker 
had pushed his pickets within sight of the Eichmond steeples. 

* Robert Edward Lee was bora in Stratford, Virginia, Jan. 19, 1807; died in Lex- 
ington. Oct. 12, 1870. His father, Henry Lee, was the celebrated " Light-horse 
Harry " of Revohitionary fame. Robert early evinced a love for a military life, and 
during his West Point course became noted for his devotion to his studies. In the 
Mexican war he was Scott's chief engineer, and was thrice brevetted for his services. 
When Virginia seceded, he threw in his fortunes with his native State, although 
Scott had already intimated his intention of nominating him as his successor. Lee 
was immediately appointed major-general of the Virginia forces, and was soon after 
designated to fortify Richmond. The wonderful success he achieved in the Seven- 
Days fight made "Uncle Robert," as he was familiarly called, the most trusted 
of the Confederate leaders. For three years he baflled every attempt to take Rich- 
mond, which fell only witli the government of which it was the capital, and the army 
and general which were its defence. General Lee was handsome in face and figure, 
a graceful rider, grave and silent in deportment— just the bearing to captivate a sol- 
dier ; while his deep piety, truth, sincerity, and honesty won the hearts of all. 



i862.] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



At this moment, there came news of the "same appah 
which had frightened Banks " in the Slienandoah. Stonewall 
Jackson had appeared near Hanover Court House, and threat- 
ened the Union communications with White House. There 
was no longer any thought of moving on Eichmond. Hooker 
was recalled. McClellan resolved to "change his base" of 
supply from the York River to the James. 

Tlie Seven-Days Battles. — The very morning McClellan 
came to this decision, and ere the flank movement had 
commenced, Lee, massing his strength on his left, fell upon 
the Union right at Mechanicsville (June 26). Having re- 
pulsed this attack, at dawn the troops retired to Gaines's 
Mill, where by the most desperate exertions Porter held the 
bridges across the Chick- 
ahominy until night, and 
then, burning them, with- 
drew to the south bank. 
That night (June 28) Lee 
detected McClellan's move- 
ment, and instantly started 
columns along the roads 
that intersected the line of 
retreat. Magruder struck 
the Federal flank (June 29) 
at Savage's Station. The 
Union troops maintained 
their position till night, and 
then continued the movement. Longstreet and Hill en- 
countered the line of march as it was passing Frazier's 
Farm (June 30), but could not break it. During the dark- 
ness, the Union troops, worn out by the constant marching or 
fighting and the terrible heat and dust, collected at Malvern. 
On an elevated plateau rising in the form of an amphitheatre. 




GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE. 



240 EPOCH V. [1862. 

on whose sloping sides were arranged tier upon tier of 
batteries, with gunboats protecting the left, the broken frag- 
ments of the splendid Army of the Potomac made their last 
stand (July 1). Here Lee received so bloody a check that he 
pressed the pursuit no further. The Union troops retired 
undisturbed to Harrison's Landing. 

The Effect of this campaign was a triumph for the Con- 
federates. The Union retreat had been conducted witli 
skill, the troops had shown great bravery and steadiness, the 
repulse at Malvern was decided, and Lee had lost probably 
twenty thousand men ; yet the siege of Eichmond had been 
raised, ten thousand prisoners captured, immense stores taken 
or destroyed, and the Union army was now cooped up on 
James Eiver, under the protection of the gunboats. The 
discouragement at the North was as great as after the battle 
of Bull Run. Lincoln called for a levy of three hundred 
thousand troops. 

Campaign against Pope. — Eichmond being relieved 
from present peril, Lee threatened to march his victorious 
army against Washington. General Pope, who commanded 
the troops for the defence of that city, was stationed at the 
Eapidan. General McClellan was directed to transfer his 
army to Acquia Creek (see map, p. 261), and put it under the 
command of General Pope. Lee, now relieved from all fear 
for Eichmond, immediately massed his troops against Pope 
to crush him before the Army of the Potomac could arrive. * 

Pope being held in check by the main army in front. Gen- 
eral Jackson was sent around Pope's right wing to flank him. 
Passing through Thoroughfare Gap he reached the railroad 
at Bristoe's Station, in the rear of Pope's army (August 26). 

* In the meantime Jackson attacked Banks at Cedar Mountain (August 9) and 
defeated him after a bloody battle, but, unable to maintain his position, fell back on 
Lee's advancing army. Pope, seeing the fearful odds against which he was to con- 
tend, took post behind the Eappahannock. 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAE. 241 

General Pope, seeing an opportunity while Lee's army was 
thus divided to cut it up in detail, turned upon Jackson. But 
the Army of the Potomac not promptly reinforcing him, his 
plans failed, and instead of " bagging " Jackson's division, he 
was compelled, with only forty thousand men, to fight the 
entire Confederate army on the old battle-field of Bull Eun. 
Exhausted, cut off from supplies, and overwhelmed by num- 
bers, the shattered remains of the Union forces were glad to 
take refuge within the fortifications of Washington.* 

Tlie Effect. — In this brief campaign the Union army lost 
thirty thousand men and vast sujjplies, while the way to 
Washington was opened to the Confederates. The Capital 
had not been in such peril since the war began. Without, 
was a victorious army ; within, were broken battahons and 
no general. 

Invasion of Maryland. — Flushed with success, Lee now 
crossed the Potomac and entered Maryland, f hoping to secure 
volunteers and mcite an insurrection. McClellan, who had 
been restored to the command of the Army of the Potomac, 
reorganized the shapeless mass and set out in pursuit. On 
the way he found a copy of Lee's order of march. Learning 
from this that Lee had divided his forces, | and that but a 
portion remained in his front, he hastened in pursuit. Over- 
taking the Confederate rear at South Moujitain, and forcing 
the passes, the Union army poured into the valley beyond 
(map opp. p. 223). 

* During the pursuit by Lee's forces, an engagement took place at ChantiUy (Sep- 
tember 1). It cost the Union army two able ofllcers— Generals Stevens and Kearney. 
The latter, especially, was devotedly loved by his soldiers. On the battle-field, bran- 
disning his sword in his only hand, and taking the reins in his teeth, he had often 
led them in the most desperate and irresistible charges. 

t This was Sept. 5, the very day that Bragg entered Kentucky on his great raid. 

t Lee had sent Jackson with twenty-five thousand men against Harper's Ferry. 
That redoubtable leader quickly carried the heights which overlook the village, forced 
Colonel Miles, with eleven thousand men, to surrender, and then hastened back to 
take part in the approaching contest. 

\^ 



242 EPOCH V. [1862. 

Battle of Antietam (September 17). — Lee, perceiving his 
mistake, fell back across Antietam (An-te'-tam) Creek and 
hurried ofi couriers to hasten the return of his scattered corps. 
Fortunately for him, McOlellan delayed his attack a day, and 
in the meantime Jackson had returned. At early dawn. 
Hooker fell upon the Confederate left, while Burnside, as 
soon as affairs looked favorable there, was to carry the bridge 
and attack their right. The Union army was over eighty 
thousand strong, and the Confederate but half that number. 
The Union advance was impetuous, but the Confederate 
defence was no less obstinate. Hooker was wounded, and 
his corps swej^t from the field. Both sides were reinforced. 
Burnside advanced, but too late to relieve the pressure on the 
Union right. Night ended this bloody fight. The morning 
found neither commander ready to assail his opponent. 
That night, Lee retired unmolested across the Potomac* 
Six weeks after, the Union army crossed into Virginia. 

The Effect of this indecisive battle was that of a Union 
victory. The North was saved from invasion, and Washing- 
ton from any danger of attack. Lincoln now determined to 
issue the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom to 
all the slaves in the seceded States, f 

Battle of Fredericksburg. — General dissatisfaction be- 

* During this invasion tlie Confederate soldiers had endured every privation ; one- 
half were in rags, and thousands barefooted had marked their path with crimson. Yet 
shoeless, hatless, and ragged, they had marched and fought with a heroism like that 
of the Revolutionary times. But they met their equals at Antietam. Jackson's and 
Hooker's men fought until both sides were nearly exterminated, and when the broken 
fragments fell back, the windrows of dead showed where their ranks had stood. 

+ Lincoln prepared the original draft in the July preceding, when the Union 
forces were in the midst of reverses. Carpenter repeats President Lincoln's words 
thus : "I put the draft of the proclamation aside, waiting for a victory. Well, the 
next news we had was of Pope's disaster at Bull Run. Things looked darker than 
ever. Finally came the week of the battle of Antietam. I determined to wait no 
longer. The news came, I think, on Wednesday, that the advantage was on our 
side. I was then staying at the Soldier's Home. Here I finished writing the 
second draft of the proclamation ; came up on Saturday ; called the Cabinet together 
to hear it, and it was published the following Monday. / made a solemn voiv before 
God, that If General Lee was driven back frmi Maryland I would crown the remit 
by the declaration of freedom to the slaves.'^ 



l862.] THE CIVIL WAR. 243 

ing expressed at the slowness with which McClellan pursued 
the retreating army, General Burnside was appointed his 
successor. Crossing the Eappahannock on pontoon bridges 
at Fredericksburg, he attempted (December 13) to storm the 
works in the rear of the town. The Confederates, intrenched 
behind a long stone wall, and on heights crowned with artil- 
lery, easily repulsed the repeated assaults of the Union troops. 
Night mercifully put an end to the fruitless massacre. The 
Federal loss was over twelve thousand, nearly half of whom 
fell before the fatal stone wall.* The survivors drew back 
into the city, and the next night passed quietly across the 
bridges to their old camping-ground, 

G-eneral Review of the Second Year of the War. — 
The Confederates had gained the victories of Jackson in the 
Shenandoah ; of Lee in the Peninsular campaign and those 
against Pope; Bragg's great raid in Kentucky; and the battles 
of Cedar Mountain, Chickasaw Bluff, and Fredericksburg. 

The Federals had taken Forts Henry, Donelson, Pulaski, 
Macon, Jackson, St. Philip, and Island No. 10 ; had opened 
the Mississippi to Vicksburg, occupied New Orleans, Koanoke 
Island, Newberne, Yorktown, Norfolk, and Memphis ; had 
gained the battles of Pea Kidge, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, 
South Mountain, Antietam, luka, Corinth, and Murfrees- 
boro, and had checked the career of the Merrimac. The 

* This solid stone wall, four feet high, completely sheltered the troops, while they 
poured a murderous fire upon the attacking party. In the assault, Meagher's Irish 
troops especially distinguished themselves, leaving two-thirds of their number on 
the field of their heroic action. The London Times's correspondent, who watched 
the battle from the heights, speaking of their desperate valor, says : " Never at Fon. 
tenoy. Albuera, nor at Waterloo, was more undoubted courage displayed by the sona 
of Erin than during those six frantic dashes which they directed against the almost 
impregnable position of their foe. That any mortal man could have carried the posi- 
tion, defended as it was, it seems idle for a moment to believe. But the bodies which 
lie in dense masses within forty-eight 3'ards of the muzzles of Colonel Walton's guns 
are the best evidence what manner of men they were who pressed on to death with 
the dauntlessness of a race which has gained glory on a thousand battle-fields, and 
never more richly deserved it than at the foot of Marye's Heights, on the 13th day of 
December, 1868." 



244 EPOCH V. [1862. 

marked successes were mainly at the West and along the 
coast ; while in Virginia, as yet, defeats had followed vic- 
tories so soon as to hide their memory. 

THE SIOUX WAR. 

In the midst of this civil strife, the Sioux (soo) Indians 
became dissatisfied with the Indian traders, and the non- 
payment of the money due them. Bands of warriors under 
Little Crow and other chiefs perpetrated horrible massacres 
in Minnesota, Iowa, and Dakota. Over seven hundred 
whites were slain, and many thousands driven from their 
homes. Col. Sibley, after a month's pursuit of the savages, 
routed them, and took five hundred prisoners. Thirty-nine 
were hung on one scafEold, at Mankato, Minn. 

1863. 

The Situation. — The plan of the war was the same as in 
the preceding year, but included also the occupation of Ten- 
nessee. The Federal army was about seven hundred thousand 
strong ; the Confederate, not more than half that number. 
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued at the opening 
of the year. 

THE WAR IN THE WEST. 

The Second Expedition against Vicksburg. — Grant 
continued his great task of opening the Mississippi. After 
several weeks of fruitless effort against Vicksburg upon the 
north, he marched down the west side of the river, while the 
gunboats, running the batteries,* passed below the city and 

* The running of the batteries with transports was considered so hazardous that 
the officers would not order their crews to take the risk, but called for volunteers. 
So many privates offered, that they were compelled to draw lots. One boy, drawing 
a lucky number, was offered $100 for his chance, but refused it, and lived to tell the 



18630 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



245 




VICINITY OF VICKSBURG. 



ferried the army across. Hastening forward, he defeated 
the Confederate advance under Pemberton, at Port Gibson 
(May 1). Learning that Gen. 
Jos. E. Johnston was coming 
to Pemberton's assistance, he 
rapidly pushed between them 
to Jackson, that, while hold- 
ing back Johnston with his 
right hand, with his left he 
might drive Pemberton into 
Vicksburg, and thus capture 
his whole army. Pursuing 

this design, he defeated Johnston at Jackson (May 14), and 
then, turning to the west, drove Pemberton from his posi- 
tion at Cliampion Hills (May 16) ; next at Big Black River 
(May 17) ; and in seventeen days after crossing the Missis- 
sippi, shut up Pemberton's army within the works at Vicks- 
burg. Two desperate assaults upon these having failed, the 
Union troops began to throw up intrenchments. Mines and 
countermines were now dug. Not one of the garrison could 
show his head above the works without being picked off by 
the watchful riflemen. A hat, held above a port-hole, in 
two minutes was pierced with fifteen balls. Shells reached 
all parts of the city, and the inhabitants burrowed in caves 
to escape the iron storm. The garrison, worn out by forty- 
seven days of toil in the trenches, surrendered on the 4th of 
July. 

The Effect. — This campaign cost the Confederates five 
battles, the cities of Vicksburg and Jackson, thirty-seven 
thousand prisoners, ten thousand killed and wounded, and 

story. The gauntlet of batteries extended eight mUes. The first gunboat crept 
silently down in the shadow of the trees which lined the bank. The Confederates at 
Vicksburg discovering the movement, kindled a bonfire which lighted up the whole 
scene, and made the other vessels a fair target for their gunners. 



246 EPOCH V. [1863. 

immense stores. On the fall of Vicksburg, Port Hudson, 
which had been besieged by General Banks foi many weeks, 
surrendered.* The Mississippi was now open to the Gulf, 
and the Confederacy cut in twain. One great object of the 
North was accompHshed. 

THE WAR IN TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA. 

Kosecrans, after the battle of Murfreesboro, made no for- 
mal movement until June, f With sixty thousand men, he 
then marched against Bragg. By threatening his com- 
munications, he compelled Bragg to evacuate Chattanooga | 
(Sept. 8). Rosecrans pushed on in pursuit of Bragg, whom 
he suj)posed to be in full retreat. Bragg, however, having 
received powerful reinforcements, turned upon his pursuers 
so suddenly that they narrowly escaped being cut up in 
detail, while scattered along a line forty miles in length. 
The Union forces rapidly concentrated, and the two armies 
met on the Chickamauga. § 

Battle of Chickamauga (Sept. 19, 20).— The first-day's 
fight was indecisive. About noon of the second day, the 

* To escape the fiery tempest which constantly swept over Port Hudson, and to 
provide for the safety of their magazines, the garrison dug deep recesses in the bluffs, 
approached by steps cut out of the earth. An eye-witness says: " As we rode along 
the earthworks inside, after the siege, it was curious to mark the ingenious ways in 
which they had burrowed holes to shelter themselves from shell and from the intol- 
erable rays of the sun ; while at work, they must have looked like so many rabbits 
popping in and out of their warrens." 

+ One objection which Rosecrans opposed to a forward movement was his inferi- 
ority in cavalry. This was removed in July, when General John H. Morgan, \\'ith 
about four thousand Confederate cavalry, crossed the Ohio at Brandenburg, swept 
around Cincinnati, and struck the river again near Parkersburg. During his entire 
route, he was harassed by militia. At this point he was overtaken by his pursuers, 
while gunboats in the river prevented his crossing. Nearly the entire force was cap- 
tured. Morgan escaped, but was finally taken and confined in the penitentiary at 
Columbus. Four months afterward, he broke jail and reached Richmond in safety. 

X General Bragg had here an opportunity to be shut up in Chattanooga, as Pember- 
ton had been in Vicksburg ; but, a more acute strategist, he knew the value of an 
army in the field to be greater than that of any fortified city. 

§ In the ladiaa language, the " Biver of Death"— aa ommous n&me 1 



1863.] 



THE CIVIL WAE. 



247 



Federal line became broken from the movement of troops to 
help the left wing, then hard pressed. Longstreet seized the 
opportunity, pushed a brigade into the gap, and swept the 
Federal right and centre from the field. The rushing crowd 
of fugitives bore Rosecrans him.self away. In this crisis of 
the battle all depended on the left, under Thomas. If that 
yielded, the army would be utterly routed. All through the 
long afternoon, the entire Confederate army surged against 
it. But Thomas held fast. * At night he deliberately with- 
drew to Chattanooga, picking up five hundred prisoners on 
the way. The Union army, however, 
defeated in the field, was now shut 
up in its intrenchments. Bragg 
occupied the hills commanding the 
city, and cut off its communications. 
The garrison was threatened with 
starvation, f 

Battle of Chattanooga J (Nov. 
24, 25). — Grant having been ap- 
pointed successor to Eosecrans, im- 
mediately hastened to Chattanooga. § 

Affairs soon wore a different look. Hooker came with two 
corps from the Army of the Potomac; || and Sherman hastened 

* Thomas was thenceforth styled the "Rock of Chickamauga." He was in com- 
mand of men as brave as himself. Col. George, of the Second Minnesota, being 
asked, " How long can you hold this pass ?" replied, " Until the regiment is mustered 
out of service." 

+ " Starvation had so destroyed the animals that there were not artillery horses 
enough to take a battery into action. The number of mules that perished was 
graphically indicated by one of the soldiers of the army of the Tennessee : ' The mud 
was so deep that we could not travel by the road, but we got along pretty weU by 
stepping from mule to mule as they lay dead by the way.' ''"'—Draper. 

X In the Cherokee language, " The Hawk's Nest." 

§ Thomas held command after Rosecrans left, and Grant was afraid he might sur- 
render before reinforcements could reach him, and therefore telegraphed him to hold 
fast. The characteristic reply was, " I will stay till I starve." 

II Twenty-three thousand strong, they were carried by rail from the Rapidan, in 
Virginia, to Stevenson, in Alabama, eleven hundred and ninety-two miles, in seven 




VICINITY OF CHATTAMOOGA. 



248 EPOCH V. [1863. 

by forced marches from luka, two hundred miles away. 
Communications were re-established. Thomas made a dash* 
and seized Orchard Knob (Nov. 23). The following day 
Hooker charged the fortifications on Lookout Mountain, f 
His troops had been ordered to stop on the high ground, but, 
carried away by the ardor of the attack, they swept over the 
crest, driving the enemy before them. Through the mist that 
filled the valley, the anxious watchers below caught only 
glimpses of this far-famed ''battle above the clouds." The 
next morning Hooker advanced on the south of Missionary 
Eidge. Sherman during the whole time had been heavily 
pounding away on the northern flank. Grant, from his 
position on Orchard Knob, perceiving that the Confederate 
line in front of him was being weakened to repel these attacks 
on the flanks, saw that the critical moment had come, X and 
launched Thomas's corps on its centre. The orders were to 
take the rifle-pits at.the foot of Missionary Ridge, then halt and 
re-form ; but the men forgot them all, carried the works at 

days. The Confederates did not know of the change of base until Hooker appeared 
in front. 

* It was a beautiful day. The men had on their best uniforms, and the bands dis- 
coursed the liveliest music. The hills were crowded with spectators. Tlie Confeder- 
ates on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge could see every movement. Bragg's 
pickets stood leaning on their muskets watching Thomas's columns drawn up as if 
on parade. Suddenly the Union line broke into a double-quick, and the review wa8 
turned into a battle. 

+ The first day the Confederate left rested on Lookout Mountain, there two thou- 
sand four hundred feet high ; the right, along Missionary Ridge — so called because, 
many years ago, Catholic missionaries had Indian schools upon it ; and the centre, 
in the valley between. The second day their army simply occupied Missionary 
Ridge, in the centre of their former line, in front of Grant at Orchard Knob. — On 
Lookout Mountain, Hooker met with so feeble a resistance, that Grant is reported to 
have declared the so-called " battle above the clouds" to be "aJl poetry, there having 
been no action there worthy the name of battle." 

i The signals for the attack had been arranged : sis cannon-shots, fired at intervals 
of two seconds. The moment arrived. "Strong and steady the order rang out: 
' Number one, fire ! Number two, fire ! Number three, fire !' " " It seemed tome," 
says Taylor, " like the tolling of the clock of destiny. And when at ' Number six, 
fire ! ' the roar throbbed out with the flash, you should have seen the dead line, that 
had been lying behind the works all day, come to resurrection in the twinkling of an 
eye, and leap like a blade from its scabbard." 



1863.1 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



249 



the base, and then swept on up the ascent. Grant caught the 
inspiration, and ordered a grand charge along the whole front. 
Up they went, over rocks and chasms, all lines broken, the 
flags far ahead, each surrounded by a group of the bravest. 
Without firing a shot, and heedless of the tempest hurled 




CHARGING UP MISSIONARY RIDGE. 



upon them, they surmounted the crest, captured the guns, 
and turned them on the retreating foe. That night the Union 
camp-fires, glistening along the heights about Chattanooga, 
proclaimed the success of this, the most brilliant of Grant's 
achievements and the most picturesque of all the battles of 
the war. 

The Effects of this campaign were the utter rout of Bragg's 
army, the resil^nation of that general, and the possession 
of Chattanooga -by the Union forces. This post gave con- 
trol of East Tennessee, and opened the way to the heart 



250 EPOCH V. [1863. 

of the Confederacy. It became the doorway by which the 
Union army gained easy access to Virginia, North and South 
Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. 

THE WAR IN EAST TENNESSEE. 

While Eosecrans was moving on Chattanooga, Burnside, 
being relieved of the command of the Army of the Potomac, 
was sent into East Tennessee, where he met with great suc- 
cess. In the meantime the Confederate President Davis 
visited Bragg, and thinking Chattanooga was sure to be 
captured, sent Longstreet with his corps to the defence of 
Tennessee. His men were in a deplorable state — hungry, 
ragged, and tentless ; but under this indefatigable leader, they 
shut up Burnside's force in the works at Knoxville. Mean- 
while, Grant, in the moment of his splendid triumph at Chat- 
tanooga, ordered Slierman*s torn, bleeding, barefoot troops 
over terrible roads one hundred miles to Burnside's relief. 
Longstreet, in order to anticipate the arrival of these re- 
inforcements, made dP desperate assault upon Burnside (No- 
vember 29), but it was as heroically repulsed. As Sherman's 
advance guard reached Knoxville (December 4), Longstreet's 
troops filed out of their works in retreat. 

THE WAR IN THE EAST. 

Battle of Chancellorsville (May 2, 3). — Burnside, after 
the defeat at Fredericksburg, was succeeded by General 
Hooker (January 26). The departure of Longstreet from 
his force, leaving Lee only sixty thousand to oppose to the 
Potomac army of over one hundred thousand, offered a 
favorable opportunity for an attack. Accordingly, Sedg- 
wick was left to carry the intrenchments at Fredericksburg, 
while the main body crossed the Rappahannock some miles 



1863.] THE CIVIL WAR. 251 

above, and took position in the wilderness near Ohancel- 
lorsville (map 4, opp. p. 223). Lee, relying on the dense 
woods to conceal his movements, risked the j)erilous chance 
of dividing his army in the presence of a superior enemy. 
While he kept up a show of fight in front, Jackson, by a 
detour of fifteen miles, got to the rear with twenty thousand 
men, and, suddenly bursting out of the dense woods, routed 
the Union right. That night. Hooker took a new position ; 
but by constant attacks through the next day, Lee gradually 
forced the Union line from the field of battle, and captured 
Chancellor House.* As he was preparing for a final grand 
charge, word was received that Sedgwick had crossed the Eap- 
pahannock, taken Fredericksburg, and had fallen on his rear. 
Drawing back, he turned against this new antagonist, and by 
severe fighting that night and the following day, compelled 
him to recross the river. Lee then went to seek Hooker, but 
he was already gone. The Army of the Potomac was soon 
back on its old camping ground opposite Fredericksburg, f 

Lee's Second Invasion of the North. — Lee, encour- 
aged by his success, now determined to carry the war into 
the Northern States, and dictate terms of peace in Philadel- 
phia or New York. J With the finest army the South had 

* A pillar on the veranda of this house, against which Hooljer was leaning, being 
struck by a cannon-ball, that general was stunned, and for an hour, in the heat of the 
fight, the Union army was deprived of its commander. 

t In this battle the South was called to mourn the death of Stonewall Jackson, 
whose magical name was worth to their cause more than an army. In the evening 
after his successful onslaught upon the flank of the Union line, while riding back to 
camp from a reconnoissance at the front| he was fired upon by his own men, who 
mistook his escort for Federal cavalry. 

t The Union disasters which had happened since the beginning of the year encour- 
aged this hope. Galveston, Texas, had been retaken by General Magruder, whereby 
not only valuable stores had been acquired, but a sea-port had been opened, and the 
Union cause in that State depressed. Burnside had been checked in his victorious 
career in Tennessee (p. 850). The naval attack on Charleston h.id proved a failure 
(p. 254). An attempt to capture Fort McAlister had met with no success. Rose- 
crans had made no progress against Bragg. Banks had not then taken Port 
Hudson. Vicksburg still kept Grant at bay. The Army of the Potomac had been 
checked at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, and at one time two hundred soldiers 



252 



EPOCH V. 



[1863. 



ever sent forth, tlie flower of her troops, carefully equipped 
and confident of success, he rapidly moved down the Shenan- 
doah, crossed the Potomac, and advanced to Chambersburg. 
The Union army followed along the east side of the Blue 
Eidge and South Mountains. Lee, fearing that Meade, who 
now commanded the Federals, would strike through some of 
the passes and cut off his communications with Kichmond, 
turned east to threaten Baltimore, and thus draw off Meade 
for its defence. 

Battle of Gettysburg (July 
1-3).— First Day.— The Confeder- 
ate advance unexpectedly met the 
Union cavalry just westward from 
Gettysburg, on the Chambersburg 
road.* Reinforcements came up on 
both sides, but the Federal troops 
were finally forced back, and, be- 
coming entangled in the streets of 
the village, lost many prisoners. All 
that night the troops kept arriving 
and taking their positions by moon- 
light, to be ready for the -contest which they saw was now 
close at hand.f 

per day were deserting its ranks. The term of service of forty thousand men had 
expired, and the total Union strength was now only eighty thousand. The cost of 
the war was enormous, and a strong peace party had arisen at the North. The draft 
■was very unpopular. Indeed, during Lee's invasion, a riot broke out in New York 
to resist it ; houses were burned, negroes were pursued in the streets, and, when 
captured, were beaten, and even hung ; for three days the city was a scene of outrage 
and violence. 

* Neither general had planned to have the fight at this place ; Lee had intended 
not to fight at all, except a defensive battle, and Meade proposed to make the contest 
at Pipe Creek, about fifteen miles southeast from Gettysburg. The movement of 
cavalry which brought on this great battle, was only a screen to conceal the Union 
army marching towards Meade's desired battle-field. — Draper. 

t The Union line was upon a fish-hook-shaped ridge about six miles long, with 
Gulp's Hill at the barb. Cemetery Ridge alons; the side, and Little Round Top and 
Round Top, two eminences, at the eye. The Confederate line was on Seminary 
Ridge, at a dietance of about a mile and a ha.lL The Union troops lay behind rock 




VICINITY OF GETTYSBURG. 



1863.] THE CIVIL WAR. 253 

Second Day. — In the afternoon, Longstreet led the first 
grand charge against the Union left, in order to secure Little 
Eound Top. General Sickles, by mistake, had here taken a 
position in front of Meade's intended line of battle. The Con- 
federates, far out-flanking, swung around him, but as they 
reached the top of the hill they met a brigade which Warren 
had sent just in time to defeat this attempt. Sickles was, 
however, driven back to Cemetery Eidge, where he stood firm. 
Ewell, in an attack on the Federal right, succeeded in getting 
a j)osition on Culjj's Hill.* 

Third Day. — At one o'clock p. m., Lee suddenly opened on 
Cemetery Ridge with one hundred and fifty guns. For two 
hours the air was alive with shells, j- Then the cannonade 
lulled, and out of the woods swept the Confederate double 
battle-line, over a mile long, and preceded by a cloud of 
skirmishers. A thrill of admiration ran along the Union 
ranks, as, silently and with disciplined steadiness, that 
magnificent column of eighteen thousand men moved up 
the slope of Cemetery Eidge. A hundred guns tore great 
gaps in their front. Infantry volleys smote their ranks. 
-The line was broken, ye't they pushed forward. They 
planted their battle-flags on the breastworks. They bayoneted 
the cannoneers at their guns. They fought, hand to hand, 
so close that the exploding powder scorched their clothes. 
Upon this struggling mass the Federals converged from every 
side. No human endurance could stand the storm. Out 



ledges EDd stone walls, while the Confederates were largely hidden in the woods. In 
the valley between, were fields of grain and pastures where cattle were feeding all 
unconscious of the gathering storm. 

* Lee, encouraged by these successes, resolved to continue the fight. The Confed- 
erate victories, however, were only apparent. Sickles had been forced into a better 
position than at first, and the one which Meade had intended he should occupy ; 
while Ewell was driven out of the Union works early the next morning. 

t It is customary in battle to demoralize the enemy before a grand infantry charge, 
by concentrating upon the desired point a tremendous artillery fire. 



254 EPOCH V. [1863. 

of that terrible fire whole companies rushed as prisoners into 
the Union lines, while the rest fled panic-stricken from the 
field.* 

The Federal loss in the three-days fight was twenty-three 
thousand ; the Confederate was not oflBcially reported, but 
probably much exceeded that number. Meade slowly fol- 
lowed Lee, who re-crossed the Potomac, and took position 
back of the Eapidan. 

Tlie Effect of this battle was to put an end to the idea of a 
Northern invasion. Lee's veterans who went down in the 
awful charges of Gettysburg could never be replaced. 

THE WAR ON THE SEA AND THE COAST. 

Attack on Charleston (April 7).— Such was the confi- 
dence felt in the ability of the iron-clads to resist cannon- 
balls, that Admiral DujDont determined to run the fortifications 
at the entrance to Charleston, and force his way up to the 
city. The attempt was a disastrous failure, f General Gill- 
more now took charge of the Union troops, and, landing on 
Morris Island, J by regular siege aj)proaches and a terrible 
bombardment captured Fort Wagner § and reduced Fort 

* At the very moment when the last charge was being repulsed, Pembertou was 
negotiating for the surrender of Vicksburg to Grant. This was the turning point of 
the war. From that time the Confederacy began to wane. 

t The Keokuk was sunk and nearly all the vessels were seriously injured. The 
oiHcers declared that the strokes of the shots against the iron sides of their ships 
were as rapid as the ticks of a watch. 

$ In a marsh west of Morris Island, piles were driven in the mud twenty feet deep, 
and a platform made on which was placed an eight-inch rifled Parrot gun, which was 
nicknamed the " Swamp Angel." It threw shells five miles into Charleston, but 
burst on the thirty-sixth round. The bombardment of the city was afterward con- 
tinued from the other batteries. 

§ Two unsuccessful charges were made on this fort. In one, the 54th regiment. 
Colonel Shaw, bore a prominent part. It was the first colored regiment organized in 
the free States. In order to be in season for the assault it had marched two days 
through heavy sands and drenching storms. With only five-minutes rest it took its 
place at the front of the attacking column. The men fought with unflinching gal- 
lantry, and planted their flag on the works ; but their colonel, and so many of the ofll* 



1863.] THE CIVIL WAR. 265 

Sumter to a shapeless mass of rubbish (map, p. 280). A 
short time after, a party of sailors from the Union fleet 
essayed to capture it by night, but its garrison, upstarting 
from the ruins, drove them back with gi-eat loss. 

General Review of the Third Year of the War. — 
The Confederates had gained the great battles of Chicka- 
mauga and Chancellorsville, seized Galyeston, and success- 
fully resisted every attack on Charleston. 

The Federals had gained the important battles before Vicks- 
burg, and those at Chattanooga and at Gettysburg. They had 
captured the garrisons of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The 
Mississippi was patrolled by gunboats, and the Confederate 
army was entirely cut oS. from its western supplies. Arkansas, 
East Tennessee, and large portions of Louisiana, Mississippi, 
and Texas, had been won for the Union. 



1864. 

The Situation. — In March, General Grant was made 
Lieutenant- General in command of all the forces of the 
United States. Heretofore the different armies had acted 
independently. They were now to move in concert, and 
thus prevent the Confederate forces from aiding each other. 
The strength of the South lay in the armies of Lee in Vir- 
ginia, and Jos. E. Johnston in Georgia. Grant was to attack 
the former, Sherman the latter, and both were to keep at 
work, regardless of season or weather. While the army of 

cers were shot, that what was left of the regiment was led off by a boy— Lt. Higginson. 
No measure of the war was more bitterly opposed than the project of arming the 
slaves. It was denounced at the North, and the Confederate Congress passed a law 
which threatened with death any white officer captured while in command of negro 
troops, leaving the men to be dealt with according to the laws of the State in which 
they were taken. Yet, so willing were the negroes to enlist, and so faithful did they 
prove themselves in service, that in December, 1863, over fifty thousand had been en- 
rolled, and before the close of the war that number was quadrupled. 



356 



EPOCH Y. 



[1864. 



the Potomac was crossing the Kapidan (May 4), Grrant, seated 
on a log by the road-side, penciled a telegram to Sherman to 
start. 




CROSSING THE RAPIDAN — GRANT'S TELEGRAM. 



THE WAR IN TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA. 

Advance upon Atlanta. —Sherman, with one hundred 
thousand men, now moved upon Johnston, who, with nearly 
fifty thousand, was stationed at Dalton, Ga. (map opp. p. 222). 
The Confederate commander, foreseeing this advance, had 
selected a series of almost impregnable positions, one behind 
the other, all the way to Atlanta. For one hundred miles 
there was continued skirmishing among mountains and woods, 
which presented every opportunity for such a warfare. Both 
armies were led by profound strategists. Sherman would 
drive Johnston into a stronghold, and then with consummate 



1864.] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



257 



skill outflank him, when Johnston with equal skill would 
retreat to a new post and prepare to meet his opponent again.* 
At Dalton, Resaca, Dallas, and Lost and Kenesaw Mountains 
bloody battles were fought. Finally, Johnston retired to the 
intrenchments of Atlanta (July 10). 

Capture of Atlanta. — Davis, dissatisfied with this Fabian 
policy, now put Hood in command. He attacked the Union 
army three times with tremendous energy, but was repulsed 
with great slaughter. Sherman, thereupon re-enacting his 
favorite flank movement, filled his wagons with fifteen-days 
rations, dexterously shifted his whole army on Hood's line 
of supplies, and thus compelled the evacuation of the city, f 

The Effect. — This campaigo during four months of fight- 
ing and marching, day and night, in its ten pitched battles 
and scores of lesser engagements, cost the Union army thirty 
thousand men, and the Confederate, thirty-five thousand. 
Georgia was the workshop, storehouse, granary and arsenal 
of the Confederacy. At Atlanta, Eome, and the neighbor- 
ing towns were manufactories, foundries, and mills, where 



• When either party stopped for a day or two, it fortified its front with an abattis 
of felled trees and a ditch \vi th a head- v^^ i 



log placed on the embankment. The 
head-log was a tree twelve or fifteen 
inches in diameter resting on small 
cross-sticks, thus leaving a space of 
four or five inches between the log 
and the dirt, through which the guns 
could be pointed. 

t During this campaign, Sherman's 
supplies were brought up by a single 
line of railroad from Nashville, a dis- 
tance of three hundred miles, and ex- 
posed throughout to the attacks of the 
enemy. Yet so carefully was it gar- 
risoned and so rapidly were bridges 
built and breaks repaired, that the 
damages were often mended before 
the news of the accident had reached 
camp. Sherman said that the whistle 
of the locomotive was quite frequent- 
ly heard on the camp-ground before the echoes of the skirmish-fire had died away. 




AN IMPROMPTU FORTIFICATION. 



258 EPOCH V. [1864. 

clothing, wagons, harnesses, powder, balls, and cannon were 
furnished to all its armies. The South was henceforth cut 
off from these supplies. 

Hood's Invasion of Tennessee. — Sherman now longed 
to sweep through the Atlantic States. But this was impossi- 
ble as long as Hood, with an army of forty thousand, was in 
front, while the cavalry under Forrest was raiding along his 
railroad communications toward Chattanooga and Nashville. 
With unconcealed joy, therefore, Sherman learned that Hood 
was to invade Tennessee. * Eelieved of this anxiety, he at 
once prepared his army for its celebrated '' March to the Sea." 

Battle of Nasliville (December 15, 16). — Hood crossed the 
Tennessee, and after severe fighting, driving Schofield's army 
before him, shut up General Thomas within the fortifica- 
tions at Nashville. For two weeks little was done, f When 
Thomas was fully ready, he suddenly sallied out on Hood, 
and in a terrible two-days battle drove the Confederate forces 
out of their intrenchments into headlong flight. The Union 
cavalry thundered upon their heels with remorseless energy. 
The infantry followed closely behind. The entire Confed- 
erate army, except the rear-guard, which fought bravely to 
the last, was dissolved into a rabble of demoralized fugitives, 
who at last escaped across the Tennessee. 

The Effect. — For the first time in the war an army was de- 
stroyed. The object which Sherman hoped to obtain when 
he moved on Atlanta was accomplished by Thomas, three 
hundred miles away. Sherman could now go where he pleased 

* Hood's expectation was that Sherman would follow him into Tennessee, and thus 
Georgia be saved from invasion. Sherman had no such idea. "If Hood will go 
there," said he, " I will give him rations to go with." Now was presented the sin- 
gular spectacle of these two armies, which had been so lately engaged in deadly com- 
bat, marching from each other as fast as they could go. 

+ Great disappointment was felt at the North over the retreat to Nashville, and still 
more at Thomas's delay in that city. Grant ordered him to move, and had actually 
started to take charge of his troops in person, when he learned of the splendid victory 
his slow but sure general had achieved. 



1864.] THE CIVIL WAR. 259 

with little danger of meeting a foe. The war at the West, 
so far as any great movements were concerned, was finished. 

Sherman's March to the Sea. — Breaking loose from his 
communications with Nashville, and burning the city of At- 
lanta, Sherman started (Nov. 16), with sixty thousand men, 
for the Atlantic coast (map opp. p. 222). The army moved 
in four columns, with a cloud of cavalry under Kilpatrick,* 
and skirmishers in front to disguise its route, f The wings 
destroyed the Georgia Central and Augusta railroads, and 
the troops foraged on the country as they passed. In five 
weeks they had marched three hundred miles, reached the 
sea, J stormed Fort IIcAlister, and captured Savannah, § 

TJie Effect of chis march can hardly be over-estimated. A 
fertile region, sixty miles wide and three hundred long, was 
desolated ; three hundred miles of railroad were destroyed ; 
the eastern portion of the already-sundered Confederacy was 
cut in twain ; immense supplies of provisions were captured, 
and the hardships of war brought home to those who had 
hitherto been exempt from its actual contact. 

* The ubiquity of the cavalry movements of the war is remarkable. In February 
preceding, Kilpatrick, who now opened up the way for Sherman's march througli 
Georgia, made a dash with the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac to rescue the 
Union prisoners at Richmond. He got within the defences of the city, but not fully 
appreciating his success, withdrew, while Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, who headed a co- 
operating force, through the ignorance or treachery of his guide, lost his route, was 
surrounded by the enemy, and fell in an attempt to cut his way out. Great damage 
was done to railroads and canals near Richmond. These various raids had little 
effect, however, upon the issue of the contest, though they served to provoke the 
bitter enmity of both sides. 

t A feint which Sherman made toward Augusta led to a concentration at that city 
of all the cavalry and militia called out to dispute his progress. The real direction of 
his march was not discovered until he had entered the peninsula between the Savan- 
nah and Ogeechee rivers. 

t The first news received at the North from Sherman was brought by three scouts, 
who left the Union army just as it was closing in on Savannah. They hid in the rice 
swamps by day and paddled down the river by night. Creeping past Fort McAlister 
undiscovered, they were picked up by the Federal gunboats. 

§ Sherman sent the news of its capture with twenty-five thousand bales of cotton 
and one hundred and fifty cannon, to President Lincoln, as a Christmas present to the 
nation. 



260 • EPOCH V. [1864. 

THE WAR IN VIRGINIA. 

Battle of the Wilderness (May 5, 6). — After crossing 
the Eapidan, the Union army plunged into the Wilderness. 
While the columns were toiling along the narrow roads, they 
were suddenly attacked by the Confederate army.* The 
dense forest forbade all strategy. There was none of the 
pomp or glory of war, only its horrible butchery. The ranks 
simply dashed into the woods. Soon came the patter of 
shots, the heavy rattle of musketry, and then there streamed 
back the wreck of the battle — bleeding, mangled forms, borne 
on stretchers. In those gloomy shades, dense with smoke, 
this strangest of battles, which no eye could follow, marked 
only by the shouts and volleys, now advancing, now receding, 
as either side gained or lost, surged to and fro. The third 
day, both armies, worn out by this desperate struggle, re- 
mained in their intrenchments. Neither side had been con- 
quered. Grant had lost twenty thousand men, and Lee ten 
thousand. It was generally supposed that the Federals 
would retire back of the Eapidan. Grant thought differently. 
He quietly gathered up his army and pushed it by the Con- 
federate right flank toward Spottsylvania Court House. 

Battle of Spottsylvania (May 8-12).— Lee detected the 
movement, and hurried a division to head off the Union 
advance. When Grant reached the spot, he found the Con- 
federate army planted right across the road, barring his prog- 
ress. Five days of continuous manoeuvring f and fighting, J 

* This was near the old battle-ground of Chancellorsville, and just a year and two 
days after that fierce fight. 

t Dnrmg this time the sharpshooters on both sides, hidden in the trees, were busy 
piclcing off officers. On the 9th, General Sedgwick was superintending the placing 
of a battery in the front. Seeing a man dodging a ball, he rebuked him, saying, 
"Pooh ! they can't hit an elephant at this distance." At that moment he was him- 
self struck, and fell dead. 

t On the morning of the 12th, Hancock's corps, hidden by a dense fog, charged 
upon the Confederate line, broke the abattis, eurrounded a division, and took three 



1864.] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



261 



having given little advantage, Grant concluded to try the fa- 
vorite movement of the year, and turn Lee's right flank again * 

Battle of Cold Harbor 
(June 3). — Lee, however, 
moving on the inner and 
shorter line, reached the 
North Anna first. Here 
some severe fighting oc- 
curred, when. Grant moving 
to flank again, Lee slipped 
into the intrenchments of 
Cold Harbor. At daybreak 
a general assault was made. 
" Twenty minutes after the 
first shot was fired, ten 
thousand Union men were 
stretched writhing on the 
sod or still and calm in 
death, while the enemy's loss 
was little over one thousand." 
The army, weary of this 
useless slaughter, refused to 
continue the attack, f 




grant's campaign around RICHMOND. 



thousand prisoners, including two generals. So complete was the surprise, that the 
officers were captured at breakfast. Lee, however, rallied, and the fighting was so 
fierce to regain this lost position, that " a tree eighteen inches in diameter was cut in 
two by the bullets which struck it. Ten thousand men fell on each side. Men ia 
hundreds, killed and wounded together, were piled in hideous heaps, some bodies, 
which had lain for hours under the concentric fire of the battle, being perforated with 
wounds. The writhing of the wounded beneath the dead moved these masses at 
times ; while often a lifted arm or a quivering limb told of an agony not quenched by 
the Lethe of death around." 

* It was during this terrible battle that Grant sent his famous despatch, " I propose 
to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." 

+ Grant had arranged, in the general plan of the campaign, for three co-operative 
movements to attract the attention and divide the strength of the Confederate army 
before Richmond: 1. General Sigel, with ten thousand men, was to advance up the 
Shenandoah Valley and threaten the railroad communication with Richmond. He 



362 EPOCH V. [1864. 

Attack oft Petersburg. — Grant now rapidly pushed hia 
army over the James, and fell upon Petersburg ; but here 
again Lee was ahead, and the works could not be forced. 
Grant was therefore compelled to throw up intrenchments 
and sit down in front of the Confederate lines. The cam- 
paign now resolved itself into a siege of Richmond, with 
Petersburg as its advanced post. 

TJie Effect. — The campaign had cost the Union army at 
least seventy thousand men, and the Confederates about forty 
thousand.* The weakened capabilities of the South were 
now fairly pitted against the almost exhaustless resources of 
the North. Grant's plan was to keep constantly hammering 
Lee's army, conscious that it was the last hope of the Con- 
federacy. The idea of thus annihilating an army was terri- 
ble, yet it seemed the only way of closing the awful struggle. 

The Siege of Richmond continued until the spring 
campaign of 1 865. It was marked by two important events : 

1. Mine Explosion (July 30), — Prom a hidden ravine in 
front of Petersburg, a mine had been dug underneath a 
strong Confederate fort. Just at dawn, the blast of eight 
thousand pounds of powder was fired. Several cannon, the 
garrison of three hundred men, and huge masses of earth, 

was, however, totally routed at Netv Marlcet (May 15). General Hunter, who super- 
Bcded him, defeated the Confederates at Piedmont (June 5), but pushing on to Lynch- 
burg with about twenty thousand men, he found it too strong, and prudently retired 
into West Virginia. 3. On the night that the Army of the Potomac crossed the Eapi- 
dan, General Butler, with thirty thousand men, ascended the James River, under the 
protection of gunboats, and landed at Bermuda Hundred. After some trifling suc- 
cesses, he was surprised in a dense fog by Beauregard, and driven back into his 
defences with considerable loss. Beauregard then threw intrenchments across the 
narrow strip, which connects Bermuda Hundred with the main land, and, as Grant 
tersely said, "hermetically sealed up" the Union force from any further advance. 
3. General Sheridan, while the army was at Spottsylvania, passed in the rear of the 
Confederate position, destroyed miles of railroad, recaptured four hundred prisoners 
en 7'mte, and defeated a cavalry force Avith the loss of their leader, General J. E. B, 
Stuart, the best cavalry officer in the South. 

* The above statement of losses is founded upon the generally-accepted authorities ; 
but Grant has lately asserted that hia total loBS was only about 39,000, while Southern 
writers place Lee's at 18,000, 



1864.] THE CIVIL WAR. 263 

were thrown high in air. The Federal guns opened fire at 
once along the entire line. An assaulting column rushed 
forward, but stopped in the crater produced by the explosion. 
The Confederates, rallying from their confusion, concen- 
trated from every side and poured shot and shell upon the 
struggling mass of men huddled within the demolished fort. 
To retreat was only less dangerous than to stay, yet many of 
the soldiers jumped out of this slaughter-pen and ran head- 
long back to the Union lines. The Federals lost about four 
thousand men in this ill-starred affair. 

2. Attach upon the Weldon Railroad (August 18).— By 
threatening Eichmond upon the north. Grant induced Lee 
to move troops to that city from Petersburg. The opportu- 
nity was at once seized, and the Weldon Railroad captured. 
Lee, aware of the great importance of that means of commu- 
nication with the South, for several days made most desperate 
attempts for its recovery. They were, however, unsuccess- 
ful, and the Union lines were permanently advanced to this 
point. * 

Early's Raid.— Hunter's retreat (p. 362) having laid open 
the Shenandoah Valley, Lee took advantage of it to threaten 
Washington, hoping thus to draw off Grant from the siege 
of Richmond. General Early, with twenty thousand men, 
accordingly hurried along this oft-traveled route. Defeating 
General Wallace at Monocacy River, he appeared before Fort 
Stevens, one of the defences of Washington (July 10). Had 
he rushed by forced marches, he might have captured the 
city ; but he stopped a day. Reinforcements having now 
arrived, he was compelled to retreat, and, laden with booty, 

* An attempt was made by Grant to take this road when he first swung south of 
Richmond, but he was repulsed with a loss of nearly four thousand men. That this 
event was not mentioned in the military report, and has not received a specific name, 
Bhows the enormous proportions the war had assumed, and how changed it was from 
the time when Big Bethel and Ball's Bluff were esteemed important battles. 



264 



EPOCH V. 



[1864. 



he rapidly recrossed the Potomac. Not being pursued, he 
returned, and sent a party of cavahy into Pennsylvania. 
They entered Chambersburg, and, on failing to obtain a 
ransom of $500,000, set fire to the village, and escaped 
safely back into the Shenandoah. 




RESCUE OF THE UNION FLEET IN THE RED RIVER (NotC, p. 265). 



Sheridan's Campaign. — Sheridan was now put in com- 
mand of all the troops in this region. He defeated Early at 
Winchester and Fisher's Hill, and in a week destroyed half 
his army, and sent the rest '' whirling up the valley of the 
Shenandoah. " * Early was quickly reinforced, and return- 
ing during Sheridan's absence, surprised his army at Oedar 
Creek (October 19), and drove it in confusion. Sheridan 
arrived at this critical moment, f ordered an immediate ad- 

* In order to prevent any further raids upon Washington from this direction, 
Sheridan devastated the valley so thoroughly that it was said that " if a crow wants 
to fly down the Shenandoah, he must carry his provisions with him." 

t Early's attack was made under cover of a dense fog and the darkness of the early 
morning. The Union troops were driven four miles. General Wright, their com< 



1864.] THE CITIL WAR. 265 

vance, and attacking the Confederates, now busy plundering 
the captured camp, routed them with great slaughter. 

The Effect. — This campaign of only a month was one of 
the most brilliant of the war. Sheridan lost seventeen thou- 
sand men, but he virtually destroyed Early's army. This 
was the last attempt to threaten Washington. 

Red River Expedition.* — A joint naval and land expe- 
dition, under the command of General Banks, was sent up 
the Eed River in the hope of destroying the Confederate 
authority in that region and in Texas (maj) opp. p. 222). 
Fort de Russy was taken (March 14), whence Banks moved 
on toward Shreveport. The line of march became extended 
a distance of nearly thirty miles along a single road. At 
Sabine Cross Roads (April 8) the Confederate forces, under 
General Dick Taylor, attacked the advance, and a miniature 
Bull Run retreat ensued. The Union troops, however, rallied 
at Pleasant Hill, and the next day, reinforcements coming 
up from the rear, they were able to repulse the Confederates. 
The army thereupon returned to New Orleans, f and Banks 
was relieved of the command. 



mander, though wounded, still remained on the field, and managed to get his troops 
into a new position in the rear. Sheridan heard the cannonading thirteen miles away, 
at Winchester. Knowing the importance of his presence, he put spurs to his coal- 
blnck steed, and never drew rein until, his horse covered with foam, he dashed upon 
the battle-field. Riding down the lines, he shouted, " Turn, boys, turn ; we're going 
back." Under the magnetism of his presence, the fugitives followed him back to the 
fight and victory. 

* Troops having been sent from Vicksburg to join the Red River expedition. West 
Tennessee and Kentucky were left exposed to attack from the Confederates. For- 
rest, with five thousand men, captured Union City, Tenn., with its garrison of about 
five hundred troops, occupied Hickman, and advanced rapidly upon Paducah, Ky. 
This, protected by the gunboats, maintained so stout a defence, that Forrest retired. 
Moving south, he next fell upon Fort Pillow (April 12). His men crept along under 
shelter of a ravine rmtil very near, and then charged upon the intrenchments. Rush- 
ing into the fort, they raised the cry "No quarter!" "The Confederate ofBcers," 
says Pollard, " lost control of their men, who were maddened by the sight of negro 
troops opposing them," and an indiscriminate slaughter followed. 

t Porter, who commanded the gunboats in the Red River, hearing of Banks's 
retreat, attempted to return with his fleet, but the river fell so rapidly that this be-. 



^()6 EPOCH V. [1864. 

TJie Effect. — This campaign was a great Confederate tri- 
umph. * Banks lost five thousand men, eighteen guns, and 
large supplies. 



THE WAR ON THE SEA AND ON THE COAST. 

The Expedition against Mobile (August 5) was under 
the command of Admiral Farragut. That he might oversee 
the battle more distinctly, he took his position in the main- 
top of his flag-ship — the Hartford. The vessels, lashed to- 
gether in pairs for mutual assistance, in an hour fought their 
way past the Confederate forts, and engaged the iron-clad 
fleet beyond (map, p. 280). After a desperate resistance, 
the great iron ram Tennessee was taken, and the other 
vessels were captured or put to flight. The forts were soon 
after reduced, and the harbor was closed to blockade run- 
ners, f 

The Expedition against Port Fisher, which defended 
the harbor of Wilmington, N. C, was commanded by Commo- 

came impossible. It was feared that it would be necessary to blow up the vessels to 
prevent their falling into the enemy's hands, when, by the happy suggestion of 
Colonel Bailey, formerly a Wisconsin lumberman, they were saved. He constructed 
a series of wing-dams below the rapids, aud when the water rose, the boats were 
safely floated over. This skilful expedient was almost the only relieving feature of 
the campaign, which was believed by some to have been undertaken simply as a 
gigantic cotton speculation in behalf of certain parties, who seemed to be more intent 
on gathering that staple than on conserving the interests of the Union cause. The 
failure ^vas, therefore, at the North a source of great mortification and reproach. 

* General Steele, who commanded in Arkansas, had moved from Little Rock to co- 
operate in this advance, but on nearing Shreveport, learned of BanKs's retreat. He 
Immediately turned around, and with great difficulty and severe fighting, managed to 
escape back to Little Rock. This disaster enabled the Confederates to recover half 
of the State. 

t The city of Mobile was not captured until the next year, when Generals Gran- 
ger's, Steele's, and A. J. Smith's commands, making a force of about forty-five thou- 
sand men, were collected for this purpose by Gen. Canby. The forts were gallantly 
defended by General Maury, but were taken within less than two weeks. The city 
itself was evacuated April 11. The Union troops entered the next day, ignorant that 
Lee bad surreudered three days before, and that the Confederacy was dead. 



1864.] THE CIVIL WAR. 267 

dore Porter. It consisted of seventy vessels and a land force 
under General Butler. After a fierce bombardment (Decem- 
ber 24, 35) Butler decided that the fort could not be taken by 
assault, and the army returned to Fortress Monroe. Commo- 
dore Porter, dissatisfied with the result, lay off the place, and 
asked for a second trial. The same troops, with fifteen hun- 
dred additional men, were sent back under General Terry. 
Protected by a terrible fire from the fleet, a column of sailors 
and one of soldiers worked their way, by a series of trenches, 
within two hundred yards of the fort. At the word, the 
former leaped forward on one side and the latter on another. 
The sailors were repulsed, but the soldiers burst into the fort. 
The hand-to-hand fight within lasted for hours. Late at 
night the garrison, hemmed in on all sides, surrendered (Jan- 
uary 15, 1865). One knows not which to admire the more, 
the gallantry of the attack or the heroism of the defence. 
In such a victory is glory, and in such a defeat, no disgrace. 
The Blockade was now so effectual that the prices of all 
imported goods in the Confederate States were fabulous. * Led 
by the enormous profits of a successful voyage, foreign mer- 
chants were constantly seeking to run the gauntlet. Their 
swift steamers, making no smoke, long, narrow, low, and of a 

* Flour bronarht, in Confederate currency, $40 per barrel ; calico, $30 per yard ; 
coffee, $50 per pound ; French gloves, $150 per pair ; and black pepper, $300 per pound. 
Dried sage, raspberry, and other leaves were substituted for the costly tea. Woolen 
clothing was scarce and the army depended largely on captiires of the ample Federal 
stores. "Pins were so rare that they were picked up with avidity in the streets." 
Paper was so expensive that matches could no longer be put in boxes. Sugar, but- 
ter, and white bread became luxuries even for the wealthy. Salt being a necessity, 
was economized to the last degree, old pork and fish barrels being soaked and the 
water evaporated so that not a grain of salt might be wasted. Women appeared in 
garments that were made of cloth carded, woven, spun, and dyed by their own hands. 
Large thorns were fitted with wax heads and made to serve as hair-pins". Shoes were 
manufactured with wooden soles to which the uppers were attached by means of small 
tacks. As a substitute for the expensive gas, the " Confederate candle " was used. 
This consisted of a long wick coated with wax and resin, and wound on a little wooden 
frame, at the top of which was nailed a bit of tin. The end of the wick being passed 
through a hole in the tin, was lighted and uncoiled as needed. 



268 EPOCH V. [1864. 

mud color, occasionally escaped the vigilance of the Federal 
squadron. During the war, it is said, over fifteen hundred 
blockade runners were taken or destroyed. With the capture 
of Fort Fisher, the last Confederate port of entry was sealed. 
Confederate Cruisers had now practically driven the 
American commerce from the ocean. They were not privateers, 
like those named on p. 322, for they were built in England and 
manned by British sailors, and were only officered and commis- 
sioned by the Con- 
federate government. 
They sailed to and 
fro upon the track of 
American ships, plun- 
dering and burning, 
or else bonding them 
for heavy sums. The 
THE ALABAMA. ^ labamtt was the most 

noted of these British steamers. Against the urgent remon- 
strances of the United States Minister at the Court of 
England, she was allowed to sail although her mission was 
well known. An English captain took her to the Azores, 
where other English vessels brought her arms, ammunition, 
and the Confederate Caj)tain Semmes with additional men. 
Putting out to sea, he read his commission and announced 
his purpose. After capturing over sixty vessels, he sailed to 
Cherbourg, France. While there, he sent out a challenge to 
the national ship-of-war Kearsarge (keer'-sarj). This was ac- 
cepted, and a battle took place off that harbor. Captain Win- 
slow, of the Kearsarge, so manoeuvred that the Alabama was 
compelled to move round in a circular track, while he trained 
his guns upon her with fearful effect. On the seventh rota- 
tion, the Confederate vessel ran up the white flag and soon 
after sank. Captain Winslow rescued a part of the sinking 




1864.] THE CIVIL WAE. 269 

crew, and others were picked up, at his request, by the Deer- 
hound, an EngHsh yacht ; but this vessel steamed off to the 
British coast with those she had saved, among whom was 
Captain Semmes. 

The Sanitary and Christian Commissions were 
''splendid examples of organized mercy," furnished by the 
people of the North. They devised and provided every possi- 
ble comfort for the sick and wounded, besides distributing 
religious reading to every soldier in the field. Ambulances, 
stretchers, hot coffee, postage-stamps, paper and envelopes, 
prayer-meetings, medicines, Christian burial — no want of body 
or soul was overlooked. " Homes " and " Lodges " for men on 
sick leave ; for those not yet under or Just out of the care of 
the government, or who had been left by their regiments, were 
instituted. " Feeding Stations " for the tired and hungry were 
established, and even "Homes for the Wives, Mothers, and 
Children of Soldiers " who had come to visit their sick or 
wounded. On every flag-of -truce boat were placed clothing, 
medicines, and cordials for the prisoners who had been 
exchanged. With boundless mercy, they cared for all while 
living, and gave Christian burial and marked graves to the 
dead. Over seventeen millions of dollars in money and sup- 
plies were expended by these two Commissions. 

Political AflFairs. — At the North, there was much dissatis- 
faction with the conduct of the war. The debt had become 
about $2,000,000,000. In July of this year, paper money 
reached its greatest depreciation, and it required two dollars 
and ninety cents in greenbacks to buy one dollar in gold. It 
was at the time of Grant's repulse from Cold Harbor and of 
Early's raid. Yet, in the midst of these discouragements, Abra- 
ham Lincoln was renominated by the republican party. George 
B. McClellan was the democratic candidate ; he stood firmly 
for the prosecution of the war, and the maintenance of the 



270 EPOCH T. [1864. 

Union, but was not in full sympathy with the policy of the 
administration. He carried only three States. Lincoln had 
a popular majority of over four hundred thousand. 
General Review of the Fourth Year of the War. — 

The Confederates had gained the battles of Olustee,* Sabine 
Cross Eoads, the Wilderness, Bermuda Hundred, Spottsylva- 
nia, New Market, Cold Harbor, and Monocacy ; had defeated 
the expeditions into Florida and the Eed River country, the 
two attacks upon Petersburg, and one against Fort Fisher, and 
yet held Grant at bay before Richmond. They had, however, 
lost ground on every side. Of the States east of the Mississippi, 
only North and South Carolina were fully retained. Missis- 
sippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia and Florida 
were overrun by the Union armies. The Federals had gained 
the battles of Pleasant Hill, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw, At- 
lanta, Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek and Nashville. 
They had captured Fort de Russy, the forts in Mobile harbor, 
and Fort McAlister, and had taken Atlanta and Savannah. 
Sherman had swept across Georgia ; Sheiidan had devastated 
the Shenandoah, driving its defenders before him ; Thomas 
had annihilated Hood's army ; Grant held Lee firmly grasped 
at Richmond, and the navy swept the entire coast. 



1865. 

The Situation. — The plan of the campaign was very sim- 
ple. The end of the war was clearly at hand. Sherman was 
to move north from Savannah against Johnston, and then join 



* This battle ended an expedition fitted out by General Gilmore, at Hilton Head, 
S. C, to recover Florida. After some success his troops, under General Seymour, 
advanced to Olustee, where (February 20) they met a disastrous defeat and were 
forced to relinquish much they had gained. The men were afterwards taken to Vir- 
giuia to engage in more important work. 



i86s.] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



271 



Grant in the final attack upon Lee. Sheridan, with ten thou- 
sand troopers, had swept down from the Shenandoah, cut the 
raih'oads north of Richmond, and taken his place in the Union 
hues before Petersburg. Wilson, with thirteen thousand 
horsemen, rode at large through Alabama and Georgia, and 
at Macon held a line of retreat from Virginia westward, 
Stoneman, with five thousand cavalry from Tennessee, 
poured through the passes of the Alleghanies and waited in 
North Carolina for the issue in Virginia. 




Sherman's march. 



Sherman's March through the Carolinas. — In the 

meantime Sherman had given his troops only a month's rest 
in Savannah. Early in February, they were put in motion 
northward. There was no waiting for roads to dry nor for 
bridges to be built, but the troops swejpt on like a tornado. 



272 EPOCH V. [1865. 

Elvers were waded, and one battle was fought while the water 
was up to the shoulders of the men. The army, sixty thousand 
strong, moved in four columns, with a front of more than fifty 
miles. Cavalry and foragers swarmed on the flanks. Before 
them was terror ; behind them were ashes. 

Columbia* was captured (February 17), and Charleston, f 
thus threatened in the rear, was evacuated the next day. In 
this emergency, Johnston was again called to the command of 
the Confederate forces. He gathered their scattered armies 
and vigorously opposed Sherman's advance. After fierce 
engagements at Avery shoro and Bentonville (March 15, 18), 
he was driven back, and Ealeigh was captured (April 13). 

Siege of Richmond. — Lee's position was fast becoming 
desperate. His only hope lay in getting out of Eichmond and 
joining with Johnston. Their united armies might prolong 
the struggle. G-rant was determined to prevent this, and com- 
pel Lee to surrender, as he had forced Pemberton to do. 

Attack on Fort Steadman (March 25). — Lee determined 
to attack Grant's right, in order to hide his plan of retreat, 
and especially in the hope that Grant would send troops from 
the left to succor the threatened point. In that case, he would 
slip out, with the main body of his army, by the nearest road 

* The cotton stored in the city was scattered through the streets and destroyed by 
fire. The flames quickly spread to the houses adjoining. All efforts to subdue the 
conflagration were unsuccessful, and a large portion of the city was destroyed. 

t General Hardee, on leaving, inflicted a terrible injury. He set fire to every shed 
and warehouse in which cotton was stored. The flames spread to a quantity of pow- 
der in the depot, which exploded with fearful destruction. Two hundred lives were 
lost. In spite of the efforts of the Union troops, a vast amount of private property 
was involved in the general devastation. The ravages which the war had made were 
well illustrated by the appearance of this city after its evacuation. An eye-witness 
says : " No pen, no pencil, no tongue can do justice to the scene ; no imagination 
can conceive the utter wreck, the universal ruin, the stupendous desolation. Euin, 
ruin, ruin, above and below, on the right hand and on the left— ruin, ruin, ruin, 
everywhere and always, staring at us from every paneless window, looking out at us 
from every shell-torn wall, glaring at us from every battered door, pillar, and veranda, 
crouching beneath our feet on every sidewalk. Not Pompeii, nor Herculaneum, nor 
Tadmor, nor the Nile, has ruins so saddening, so plaintively eloquent." 



1865.] THE CIVIL WAR. 273 

southward, which ran close by the Union left. The assault 
was made on Fort Steadman, but it was a signal failure. Three 
thousand out of five thousand engaged in the attempt were 
lost. To make matters worse, a Union assault followed 
directly afterward, and a portion of the Confederate outer 
defences was captured. Thus Grant's grip was only tight- 
ened. He had made no change in the position of his troops, 
and this sortie neither hastened nor delayed the grand, final 
attack. 

Battle of Five Forks (April 1). — This movement began 
Wednesday morning, March 29. Sheridan with his cavalry — 
nine thousand sabres — and heavy columns of infantry, pushed 
out from Grant's left wing to get around in Lee's rear. 
Cloaking his plan by a thick screen of cavalry, to conceal the 
movements of his infantry, he threw a heavy force behind 
the Confederate position at Five Forks.* Assailed in front 
and rear, the gan-ison was overwhelmed, and five thousand 
men were taken prisoners. 

The Effect of this brilliant affair was at once to render 
Lee's position untenable. His right was turned, and his rear 
threatened. 

Capture of Petersburg and Richmond (April 2, 3). — 
The next morning, at four o'clock, the Union army advanced 
in an overwhelming assault along the whole front. By 
noon, the Confederate line of intrenchments before which the 
Army of the Potomac had lain so long, was broken, and thou- 
sands of prisoners were captured, f That night Petersburg 

* Five Forks is situated twelve miles southwest from Petersburg. (See map oppo- 
site p. 223, and of Vlth Epoch.) 

t Generals Lee and A. P. Hill were at the former's headquarters, within the city, 
discussing the prospects of the day. Suddenly General Lee, listening, said to Hill : 
"General, your men are giving way." Instantly Hill was mounted and dashing 
down the road. As he was spurring his steed, he caught a glimpse of two or three 
blue coats with rifles leveled at him. " Throw down your arms !" he authoritatively 
cried. For an instant the men hesitated, but the next moment they fired, and Gen- 
eral Hill feU dead. 



274 EPOCH V. [l86S 

and Richmond were evacuated. The next morning the Union 
troops took possession of the Confederate capital,* the coveted 
goal of the Army of the Potomac for four long bloody years. 
Lee's Surrender. — Meanwhile, Lee, having only the 
wreck of that proud array with which he had dealt the Union 
army so many crushing blows, hurried west, seeking some 
avenue of escape. G-rant urged the pursuit with untiring 
energy. Sheridan, *^with a terrible daring which knew no 
pause, no rest," hung on his flanks. Food now failed the 
Confederates and they could get only the young shoots of trees 
to eat. If they sought a moment's repose, they were awakened 
by the clatter of pursuing cavalry. Lee, like a hunted fox, 
turned hither and thither ; but at last Sheridan planted him- 
self squarely across the front. Lee ordered a charge. His 
half-starved troops, with a rallying of their old courage, 
obeyed. But the cavalry moving aside, as a curtain is drawn, 
revealed dense bodies of infantry in battle line. The Civil 
War was about to end in one of its bloodiest tragedies, when 
the Confederate advance was stopped. General Grant had 

* Sunday, the day before, the Confederate President, Davis, was at chnrch, when a 
note was handed him by a messenger. It was from Lee, informing him that the Con- 
federate army was about to leave Richmond. His pallid face and unsteady footsteps, 
as he passed out, betrayed the news. Pollard says : " Men, women, and children 
rushed from the churches, passing from lip to lip news of the impending fall of Rich- 
mond. ... It was late in the afternoon when the signs of evacuation became 
apparent to the incredulous. Suddenly, as if by magic, the streets became filled with 
men, walking as though for a wager, and behind them excited negroes with trunks, 
bundles, and luggage of every description. All over the city, it was the same- 
wagons, trunks, bandboxes, and their owners, a mass of hurrying fugitives filling the 
streets. Night came, and with it confusion worse confounded. There was no sleep 
for human eyes in Richmond that night. About the hour of midnight, hundreds of 
barrels of liquor were rolled into the street, and the heads knocked in, by order of the 
City Conncil, to preventa worse disorder. As the work progressed, some straggling 
soldiers managed to get hold of a quantity of the liquor. Prom that moment law and 
order ceased to exist." By order of General Ewell, the four principal •tobacco ware- 
houses, in ditferent parts of the city, were fired, and soon the flames became unman- 
ageable. " Morning broke upon a scene such as those who witnessed it can never 
forget. The roar of an immense conflagration sounded in their ears ; tongues of 
flame leaped from street to street ; and in this baleful glare were to be seen, as of 
demons, the figures of busy plunderers, moving, pushing, rioting through the black 
emoke, bearing away every conceivable sort of plunder." 



1865.] THE CIVIL WAR. 275 

already sent in a note demanding the surrender of the army. 
Lee accepted the terms ;* and, April 9th, eight thousand 
men — the remains of the Army of Virginia — ^laid down their 
arms near Appomattox Court House, and then turned home- 
ward, no longer Confederate soldiers, but American citizens. 

The Effect. — This closed the war. The other Confederate 
armies — Johnston's, Dick Taylor's, and Kirby Smith's— 
promptly surrendered, f Jefferson Davis fled southward, 
hoping to escape, but was overtaken near Irwinsville, Georgia 
(May 11), and sent a prisoner to Fortress Monroe. 

Cost of the War. — In the Union armies probably three 
hundred thousand men were killed in battle or died of 
wounds or disease, while doubtless two hundred thousand 
more were crippled for life. If the Confederate armies suf- 
fered as heavily, the country thus lost one million able- 
bodied men. The Union debt, Jan. 1, 1866, was nearly 
$2,750,000,000. At one time, the daily expenses reached the 
sum of $3,500,000. During the last year of the war, the 
expenses were greater than the entire expenditures of the 
government from Washington to Buchanan. The Confed- 
erate war debts were never paid, as that government was 
overthrown. 

Assassination of Lincoln. — In the midst of the uni- 
versal rejoicings over the advent of peace, on the evening of 
April 14 the intelligence was flashed over the country that 

* The officers and men were allowed to go home on their paroles not to take up 
arms against the United States until exchanged, and the former to retain their pri- 
vate barjsage and horses. After the surrender had been concluded, General Lee said 
that he had forgotten to mention that many of his soldiers rode their own horses. 
Grant at once replied that such should keep their horses to aid them in their future 
work at home.— That the two armies so fiercely opposed for four years could have 
parted with no words but those of sympathy and respect was an assured presage of 
a day when all the wounds of the restored Union should be fully healed. 

+ The last fight of the war happened near Brazos Santiago, Texas, May 13. A small 
expedition sent out to surprise a Confederate camp was overtaken, on its return, by 
a larger force and defeated with a loss of eighty men. 



276 



EPOCH V. 



[1865. 



Lincoln had been assassinated.* While seated with his 
wife and friends in his box at Ford's Theatre, he was 
shot by John Wilkes Booth f who insanely imagined he 




THE WHITE HOUSE OR EXECUTIVE MANSION. 
(The Official Residence of the President.) 

was ridding his country of a tyrant. About the unconscious 
body of the President gathered the most prominent men of 
the nation, who mourned and watched, waiting in vain for 

* A nearly fatal attempt was also made at the same time upon William H. Seward, 
Secretary of State, who was lying sick in his bed at home. 

+ Booth stealthily entered the box, fastened the door, that he might not be fol- 
lowed, shot the President, then waving hia pistol, shouted, " Sic Semper Tyrannis" 
(so be it always to tyrants), and leaped to the stage in front. As he jumped, the 
American flag draped before the box— mute avenger of the nation's chief— caught his 
spur, and, throwing him heavily, broke his leg. The assassin, however, escaped from 
the house in the confusion, mounted a horse which was waiting for him, and fled into 
Maryland. He was at length overtaken in a barn, where he stood at bay. The build- 
ing was fired to drive him out, but, being determined to defend himself against arrest, 
he was shot by one of the soldiers. The accomplices of Booth were arrested, tried 
and convicted. Harrold, Payne, Atzerott and Mrs. Surratt were hanged ; Arnold, 
Mudd and McLaughlin imprisoned for life ; and Spangler was sentenced for six yeans, 



l86S.] THE CIVIL WAR. 277 

some sign of recognition until the next morning, when he 
died. The funeral was held on the 19th. It was a day of 
mourning throughout the land. In most of the cities and 
towns funeral orations were pronounced. The body was borne 
to Springfield over the same route along which Lincoln had 
come as President elect to "Washington. The procession may 
be said to have extended the entire distance. The churches, 
principal buildings, and even the engines and cars were draped 
in black. Almost every citizen wore the badge of mourning. 

States Added during this Epoch. — Wesi Virginia, 
the thirty-fifth State, was admitted to the Union June 20, 
1863. During the Civil War, this portion of Virginia re- 
maining loyal, it was incorporated as a separate State. 

Nevada, the thirty-sixth State, was admitted to the Union 
October 31, 1864. Its name was derived from the range of 
mountains on the west, the Sierra Nevada, a Spanish title, 
signifying " Snow-covered mountains." It was the third State 
carved out of the territory acquired by the Mexican war, Texas 
being the first, and California the second. Its first settlement 
was at Carson City. It is one of the richest mineral States in 
the Union. 



Summary of the History of the Fifth Epoch, 
arranged in Chronological Order. 

PAGE 

1861. Abraham Lincoln inaugurated President of United Stales, 

March 4, 215 

Fort Sumter fired upon, April 12 216 

Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers, April 15, . . . 217 

Confederates seized Harper's Ferry, April 18, . . . 217 

Massachusetts troops fired upon in Baltimore, April 19, . 217 . 
Confederates seized Norfolk Navy Yard, April 20, . .217 

Battle of Philippi, Va., June 3, 218 

" BigBethel, Va., JunelO, 218 

" Booneville, Mo., Junel7, 221 

" Carthage, Mo., July 5, 231 



278 



EPOCH V. 



[1861. 



July 



1861. Battle of Rich Mountain, Va., July 11, . 

" Carrick's Ford, Va., July 14, 
Confederate Congress assembled at Riclimond, Va., 

20 

Battle of Bull Run, Va., July 31, 

" Wilson's Creek, Mo,, August 10, 
Forts at Hatteras Inlet, N. C, captured, August 29, 
Battle of Carnifex Ferry, Va., September 10, . 

" Lexington, Mo. , September 20, . 

" Ball'sBluff.Va., October 21, 
Port Royal, S. C. , taken, November 7, 
Battle of Belmont, Mo., November 7, . 
Seizure of Mason and Slid ell, November 8, 
Skirmish of Dranesville, Va., December 20, 
1863. Battle of Mill Spring, Ky., January 19, . 
Fort Henry, Tenn., taken, February 6, 
Roanoke Island, N. C, taken, February 8, 
Fort Donelson, Tenn., taken, February 16, 
Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., March 7, 8, 

' ' of the Monitor and the Merrimac, March 9, 
Newberne, N. C, taken, March 14, . 
Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Tenn., April 6, 
Island No, 10 captured, April 7, . . . 

Fort Pulaski, Qa., captured, April 11, 
New Orleans captured, April 25, 
Beaufort, S. C, captured, April 25, . 
Torktown, Va., taken. May 4, . 
Battle of Williamsburg, Va. , May 5, 
Norfolk, Va., surrendered, May 10, . 

Corinth, Miss., taken. May 30 

Battle of Fair Oaks or Seven Pines, Va., May 31, June 1, 
Lee assumed command of the Confederate armies, June 3, 
Memphis, Tenn., surrendered, June 6, 
Seven-Days battles, June 3o-July 1, 
Battle of Cedar Mountain, Va. , August 9, 
Second Battle of Bull Run, Va., August 39, . 
Battle of Richmond, Ky. , August 30, 

" Chan tilly, Va., September 1; 

" South Mountain, Md., September 14, 
Harper's Ferry surrendered, September 15, 
Battle of Antietam, Md., September 17, . 

" luka, Miss. , September 19, . 

" Corinth, Miss., October 4, . 

" Perryville, Ky., October 8, . . , 



7, 



1862.] 



THE CIVIL WAR. 



279 



342. 



1862. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, . 
First attack on Vicksburg, Miss., December 29, 
Battle of Murfreesboro, Term., December 31 and January 

2, 1863, 

1863. Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, . 
Arkansas Post taken, January 11, . 
Fort Sumter, S. C, bombarded by fleet, April 7, 
Grant's campaign before Vicksburg, May 1-17, 
Battle of Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 3, . 
West Virginia admitted to tbe Union, June 20, 
Battle of Gettysburg, Penn., July 1-3, 
Vicksburg, Miss., surrendered, July 4, 
Port Hudson surrendered, July 8, 
Draft Riot in New York City, July 13-16, 
Fort Wagner, S. C, taken, September 7, . 
Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., September 19, 20, 

" Chattanooga, Tenn., November 24, 25, 

Siege of Knoxville, Tenn. , raised, December 4, 

1864. Battle of Olustee, Fla., February 20, 
Grant made Lieutenant-General, Marcli 3, 
Fort de Russy captured, March 14, . 
Fort Pillow, Tenn., captured, April 13, 
Butler landed at Bermuda Hundred, May 5, 
Battle of Wilderness, Va., May 5, 6, . 

" Spottsylvania, Va., May 8-13, . 

" Resaca, Ga. , May 14, 15, . 

" New Market, Va., May 15, 

Dallas, May 35-38, . 

" Cold Harbor, Va. , June 3, . 

" Lost Mountain, Ga., June 15-17, 

Battle between the Kearsarge and the Alabama, June 19, 
Battle of Kenesaw Mt., Ga., June 27, 

Monocacy, Md., July 9, 
Battles before Atlanta, Ga., July 30, 33, 38, 
Cliambersburg, Pa., burned, July 30, 
Mine explosion, Petersburg, Va., July 30, 
Farragut entered Mobile Bay, Ala., August 5, 
Weldon Railroad seized, August 18, . 
Atlanta, Ga., taken, September 3, 
Battle of Winchester, Va., September 19, 

" Fisher's Hill, Va., September 22, 

" Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, . 

Nevada admitted to the Union, October 31, 
Fort McAlister, Ga., taken, December 13, 



229 

244 
. 280 
. 254 
. 244 

. 350 

318, 377 
. 353 



280 



EPOCH V. 



[1864. 



1864. 
1865. 



Battle of Nashville, Tenn. , December 15, 16, 
Fort Fisher, N. C, taken, January 15, 
Columbia, S. C, taken, February 17, 
Charleston, S. C, taken, February 18, 
Battles of Averysboro and Bentonsville, N. C. , 
Attack on Fort Steadman, Va., March 25, 
Battle of Five Forks, Va., April 1, . 
Petersburg and Richmond taken, April 2, 3, 
Lee's army surrendered, April 9, 
President Lincoln assassinated, April 14, . 
Johnston's army surrendered, April 26, 
Jefferson Davis captured, May 11, 



Mar. 



15, 



PAQB 

. 258 

. 267 

. 272 

. 272 

18, 272 

. 273 

. 273 

. 273 

. 275 

. 275 

. 275 

. 375 



REFERENCES FOR READING. 

Draper, Greeley, Stephens, Abbott, Pollard, Lossing, and Headley on the Civil IVar. 
— Nicholas Story 0/ the Great March and The Sanctuary (a novel). — Sijuinton's Army 
0/ the Potomac, and Twelve Decisive Battles. — Dabney'' s Life of Stonewall Jackson. 
— Badeau's Military History of General Grant. — Headley'' s Farragut and Our Naval 
Commanders. — Coffin^ s Days and Nights on the Battle Field. — Boynton^ s American 
Navy. — StilFs History of the Sanitary Commission. — Jolinston^ s Narrative of Mili- 
tary Operations. — Moore's Rebellion Record and Ballads, and Grant White's Poetry 
of the Civil War. — Harper's Pictorial History of the War. — Duyckinck's History 
and Lives of Eminent Americans. — Mrs. Chads' s Romance of the Republic. — Esten 
Cook's Surrey of Eagle' s Nest ajid Mohun (novels).— Harrington' s Inside. — Gilmore's 
Among the Guerrillas and Down in Tetinessee. — W. G. Simins's War Poetry of the 
South. — Laura Redden' s Idyls of Battle, and Richardso?i's Field, Dungeon, and Es- 
cape.— Hotchkiss &• Allan's Battle Fields of Virginia.— Ear ly' s Army of Northern 
Virginia. — Whittier's In War Time (Poem). — Cooke's Life of General Robert E, 
Lee.— Memoirs of Gen. W. T. Sherman.— Barnes's Popular Hist, of United States. 




Lincoln's early home in Illinois. 




Jaait) Well* iJei, 



Copyright, 1379, by A 




s & Co., Neiv York. 



Jiuuell t atni.th»rt, Eng'a y. Y 



Epoch VI. 

RECONSTRUCTION AND PASSING- EVENTS. 



From 1865— Close of the Civil War, 
To — The Present Date. 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT: 1865-1869.) 

HE death of Lincoln produced no dis- 
order, and within three hours there- 
after the Vice-President, Andrew 
Johnson, quietly assumed the duties 
of the Presidency. 

Disbanding of the Army.— At 
the close of the war the two armies 
numbered a million and a half of 
soldiers. Within six months they 
had nearly all returned home. Thus 
the mightiest hosts ever called to the field by a republic went 
back without disturbance to the tranquil pursuits of civil 

* Andrew Johnson was bom in Ealeigh, N. C, December 29, 1808. When only ten 
years of age, he was bound apprentice to a tailor of that city. Never having been at 
school a day in his life, he yet determined to secure an education. From a fellow- 
workman he learned the alphabet, and from a friend something of spelling. Thence- 
forth, after working ten to twelve hours per day at his trade, he spent two or three 
every night in study. In 1826, he went West to seek his fortune, with true filial afEec- 
tion carrying with him his mother, who was dependent on his labor for support. 
After his marriage at Greenville, Tenn., he continued his studies under the instruc- 
tion of his wife, pursuing his trade as before by day. His political life commenced 
with his election as alderman. He was successively chosen mayor, member of legis- 
lature, Presidential elector. State senator, twice governor, and thrice U. S. senator. 

Questions on ike Geoffraphy of ike Sixih jE'pock.—l.oca.tc Raleigh. Heart's 
Content, and St. John's, Newfoundland (see map. Epoch 11). Alaska. St. AlbanB, 
Vt. BuflTalo. Mt. Pleasant, O. (map, Epoch V). West Point. Chicago. Boston. 
Dnlutb. Puget's Sound. Sau Francisco. Klamath Lava Beds, Oregon, 




282 EPOCH VI. [1865. 

life. In a few months there was nothing to distinguish the 
soldier from the citizen, except the recollection of his bravery. 
Other nations prophesied that such a vast army could not be 
disbanded peaceably. The republic, by this final triumph of 
law and order, proved itself the most stable government in 
the world.* 

Domestic Affairs. — Reconstruction Policy of the Presi- 
dent. — Johnson recognized the State governments that had 
been formed in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana 
during the war, under the protection of the Union army. In 
the other States, he appointed provisional governors, and 
authorized the calling of conventions to form loyal govern- 
ments. These conventions accordingly met, repealed the 
ordinances of secession, repudiated the Confederate war debt, 
and ratified the amendment which Congress had offered 
abolishing slavery. On these conditions, Johnson claimed 
that the States, having never been legally out of the Union, 
should be restored to all their rights in the Union. All 
restrictions on commerce with the South had been previously 
removed (April 29, 1865). A month later, Johnson issued a 
proclamation of amnesty and pardon to all engaged in seces- 
sion, except certain classes,! on condition of taking the oath 
of allegiance to the United States. In 1868 (July 4) full 
pardon was granted to all not under indictment for treason, 
and afterward this was extended to all without exception. 

The Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, having been 
ratified by the States, was declared (December 18, 1865) duly 
adopted as a part of the Constitution of the United States. 

* A grand review of the armies of Grant and Sherman, two hundred thousand 
strong, took place in the presence of the President and his Cabinet. For twelve hours 
this triumphal procession, thirty miles long, massed in solid column twenty men 
deep, rolled through the broad avenues of the Capital. 

t Many of the persons thus excluded obtained pardons from the President by per- 
sonal application. One complaint against him was the readiness with which he 
granted such pardons. 



1865.] JOHN"SOK'S ADMINISTKATION. 283 

PuUic Debt. — The annual interest on the war debt was now 
over one hundred and thirty millions of dollars. The revenue 
from duties on imported goods, taxes on manufactures, in- 
comes, etc., and from the sale of revenue stamps, was over 
three hundred millions of dollars. This provided not only 
for the current expenses of the government and the payment 
of interest, but also for the gradual extinguishment of the 
debt. It is a striking evidence of the abundant resources of 
the country that, in 1866, ''before all the extra troops called 
out by the war had been discharged, the debt had been 
diminished more than thirty-one millions of dollars." 

Reconstruction Policy of Congress. — On the assembling of 
Congress, decided grounds were taken against the policy of the 
President. It was claimed that Congi-ess alone had power to 
prescribe the conditions for the re-admission of the seceded 
States. His proclamation and orders were treated as of no 
value. The Freedmen's Bureau, the Civil Eights, and the 
Tenure-of-Office bills * were passed over the President's veto. 

TJie Seceded States Admitted. — Tennessee promptly ratified 
the Fourteenth Amendment and was restored to her former 
position in the Union. The other provisional governments 
having refused to do so, a bill was passed (March 2, 1867) 
placing those States under military rule. The generals in 
command caused a registry of voters to be made, and elec- 
tions to be held for conventions to remodel the State consti- 
tutions. After a bitter and protracted struggle, governments 
were established in Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Louisiana, Korth and South Carolina, f and their representa- 

* The first provided for the establishment of a department of the national govern- 
ment for the care and protection of the frecdmen, i. e., the emancipated slaves, and 
also of the destitute whites at the South. The second bill guaranteed to the negroes 
the rights of citizenship. The third made the consent of the Senate necessary to the 
removal by the President of any person from a civil oiHce. 

t As a requisite demanded by Congress for holding office, every candidate was 
obliged to swear that he had not participated in the secession movement. Since few 



284 EPOCH VI. [1868. 

tives admitted (June 24, 1868) over the President's veto, to 
Congress, after an unrepresented period of seven years. 

Impeachment of the President. — The constantly-increasing 
hostility between the President and Congress came to an issue 
when the former attempted to remove Edwin M. Stanton, 
Secretary of War. This being considered a violation of the 
Tenure-of-Office bill, the impeachment of the President was 
at last ordered (February 24, 1868). After a long and tedious 
trial he was acquitted, the two-thirds majority necessary for 
conviction lacking one vote. 

TJie Fourteenth Amendment proposed by Congress, guaran- 
teeing equal civil rights to all, regardless of race or color, 
and basing representation in each State on the number of 
voters, was adopted July 28, 1868. 

Tlie Indian War along the Southwest having, in 1865-6, 
increased so as to demand active measures for its suppression. 
General Sheridan was ordered thither. Black Kettle and 
a large body of his warriors being surprised and slain by 
a charge of Custer's cavalry (1868) in the battle of the 
Wacheta (wah-che'-tah), hostilities ceased. 

The French in Mexico. — While the United States were ab- 
sorbed in the civil war. Napoleon III., emperor of France, 
took advantage of the opportunity to secure a foothold in 
America. By the assistance of the French army, the im- 
perialists of Mexico defeated the liberals, and Maximilian, 
archduke of Austria, was chosen emperor. The United States 
government protested against the measure, but was unable to 
enforce the " Monroe doctrine. " When the American people 
were relieved from the pressure of civil strife, they turned 
their attention to the Mexicans hopelessly struggling for lib- 

Sonthemers could take this " iron-clad oath," as it was termed, most of the repre- 
sentatives were Northern men who had gone South after the war, and were, there- 
fore, called "carpet-baggers." 



1867.] JOHKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 285 

erty, and the United States government demanded of Napo- 
leon the recall of the French troops. Maximilian, deprived of 
foreign aid, was defeated, and, falling into the hands of the 
Mexican liberals, was shot June 19, 1867. This ended the 
dream of French dominion on this continent. 

Laying of the Atlantic Cable. — While these great political 
events were happening, science had achieved a peaceful 
triumph whose importance far transcended the victories of 




THE GREAT EASTERN LAYING THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 

diplomatic or military skill. A telegraphic cable eighteen 
hundred and sixty-four miles in length had been laid from 
Valentia Bay, Ireland, to Heart's Content, Newfoundland. * 

* The success of this enterprise was due to the energy of Cyrus W. Field. In 1856, 
the line was finished from New York to St. John's, Newfoundland, a distance of over 
one thousand miles. A company was then formed with a capital of about $1,750,000. 
A cable was made, but in an attempt to lay it (August, 1857), the cable parted. A 
eecond attempt, in June, 1858, failed after repeated trials. A third effort, in July. 
was Bucceseful. A message was sent from the Queen of England to the President, 



^86 EPOCH VI. [1866. 

The two continents were thus brought into almost instant 
communication. 

Foreign Affairs. — Fur chase of Alaska (October, 1867). — 
Through the diplomacy of William H. Seward, Secretary of 
State, Alaska was purchased of Russia for $7,200,000 in gold. 
It contains about 500,000 square miles, but is principally 
valuable for its harbors, furs, and fisheries. 

Fenian Excitement. — The Fenians, a secret society organ- 
ized for the purpose of delivering Ireland from British rule, 
crossed the Canadian frontier at Buffalo, N. Y., and St. Albans, 
Vt., in large numbers. President Johnson issued a proclama- 
tion declaring the movement a violation of our neutrality, and 
sent thither General Meade to execute the laws. After some 
skirmishing with British troops, the expedition returned. 

Treaty with China (1868). — An embassy from the Chinese 
Empire, under charge of Anson Burlingame,* visited the 
United States. It was an event of much importance, and the 
first of its kind in the history of that exclusive nation. A 
treaty was perfected guaranteeing liberty of conscience to 
Americans in China, and certain commercial privileges of 
great value. 



and a reply transmitted. A celetiration was held in New York in honor of the event, 
but on that very day (September 1) the cable ceased to work. The time and money 
spent seemed a total loss. Mr. Field alone was undismayed. The company was re- 
vived, $3,000,000 were subscribed, and a new cable was manufactured. In July, 1865, 
the Great Eastern commenced laying this cable, but in mid-ocean it parted and sank 
to the bottom. Again Mr. Field went to work, raised a new company with a capital 
of $3,000,000, and made a third cable. The Great Eastern sailed with this in June, 
1866, and successfully accomplished the feat. To make the triumph more complete, 
the vessel sailed back to the very spot where the cable of 1865 had parted, and, drop- 
ping grappling-irons, caught the lost cable, brought it to the surface, and, splicing it, 
iaid the remaining portion. The two cables were found to work admirably. A 
despatch has been sent across the ocean by a battery made in a gun-cap. 

* Burlingame had been the United States minister to the Chinese government for 
six years. During this time he had rendered himself so popular, that, at the end of 
his term of service. Prince Kung, the Chinese Regent, requested him to go on this 
special mission to foreign courts. After visiting the United States, he went to Eng- 
land, France, and Russia. He died at St. Petersburg within a month after his arrival 
there. 



l868.] GEANT'S ADMIHISTIIATION. 387 

Political Parties. — The republican party nominated Gen- 
eral Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, for President, and Schuyler 
Colfax, of Indiana, for Vice-President. The democratic party 
nommated Horatio Seymour, of New York, and General Frank 
P. Blair, of Missouri. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas were 
not allowed to vote. As the other Southern States had been 
"reconstructed," had granted negro suffrage, and enforced a 
strict registry law, they were permitted to participate in the 
election. Grant and Colfax were elected. 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT— TWO TERMS: 1869-1877.) 

Domestic Afifairs. — Pacific Eailroad. — The year 1869 
was made memorable by the opening of this road, which 
completed the union between the Atlantic and the Pacific. 
The traveler can now pass from New York to San Francisco, 
a distance of about 3,400 miles, in less than a week.f This 

* Hiram Ulysses Grant was born at Mount Pleasant, Ohio, April 27, 1822. He was 
unwilling to follow his father's trade, which was that of a tanner, and, at seventeen, 
an appointment to West Point was secured for him. His name having been wrongly- 
registered. Grant vainly attempted to set the matter right, but finally accepted his 
"manifest destiny," assumed the change thus forced upon him, and thenceforth 
signed himself " Ulysses Simpson," the latter being his mother's family name. Two 
years after completing his four-years course as cadet, the Mexican War broke out, 
in which Grant conducted himself with great gallantry, receiving especial mention 
and promolion. After this, he retired to civil life, where he remained until the open- 
ing of the war in 1861. He was then appointed to command a company of volunteers. 
Having taken it to Springfield, he became aid to Gov. Yates, and was finally commis- 
sioned as colonel of the 21st Illinois regiment. His military and political career was 
henceforth a part of the country's history. After the close of his presidential terms, 
he made the tour of the world. During this extended journey, he was everywhere 
received with marked enthusiasm and honor, and his dignified and consistent con- 
duct shed lustre upon the country he represented. 

+ Already other roads across the continent are constructing. The Northern Pacific 
has its eastern terminus on Lake Superior, and its western will be on Puget Sound. 
Though far to the north, yet in Oregon there is no winter weather, but only a rainy 
season, as in California. In portions of Dakota, Idaho, and Montana, cattle range 



288 



EPOCH VI. 



[1869, 



great highway has linked the West to the East by iron bands, 
has carried thousands of pioneers into the hitherto wild 

country along its route, 
developed fresh sources of 
industry and mines of 
wealth, and opened the 
United States to the silks, 
teas, and spices of Asia. 
American ingenuity has 
solved the problem which 
foiled Columbus and the 
olden navigators. It has 
made for itself a route to 
India. 

Tlie Fifteenth Amend- 
ment, which guarantees to 
all the right of suffrage, irrespective of ^'race, color, or pre- 
vious condition of servitude," having been ratified by the 
requisite number of States, was formally announced as a 
part of the Constitution, by Hamilton Fish, Secretary of 
State, March 30, 1870. 

Prosperitij of the Country. — The nation rapidly recovered 
from the effects of war. The price of gold *fell to 110, and 
themational debt was reduced $204,000,000 during the first 
two years of this administration. A general amnesty to all 
connected with the Civil War was proclaimed, and the bitter 
feelings engendered by fraternal strife fast melted away. The 




ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



the natural-grass pastures during the whole winter ; while, in Washington Territory, 
roses blossom the year around. For the construction of this road public lands have 
been given by Congress, to the amount of over 80,000,000 acres, which is considerably 
in excess of the total area of the six New England States. JThe length of this road 
will be 1,800 miles, with a branch of 200 miles to Portland, Oregon. The Southern 
Pacific is to extend from Shreveport, La., to San Diego, Cal., a distance of 1,514 
miles. This will run through a country so mild as to avoid the necessity of the 
" gnow-sheds " which form so singular a feature of the Central Pacific. 



1870.] GEANT'S ADMIlSriSTEATIOiq". 289 

South, devastated and scourged by the march of contending 
armies, accustomed herself to the novel conditions of free 
labor, rebuilt her railroads, cultivated her fields, and re- 
paired the ravages of war. The census of 1870 showed that 
the population of the United States was over thirty-eight 
millions, an increase of about seven millions, while the man- 
ufacturing establishments of the country had nearly, if not 
quite, doubled in number and value during the preceding 
decade. 

Fires. — 1. A great fire broke out in Chicago, Sunday 
night, October 8, 1871. For two days it raged with tremen- 
dous violence, devastating 3,000 acres. 25,000 buildings 
were burned, $200,000,000 worth of property was destroyed, 
and 100,000 persons were rendered homeless. Contributions 
for the sufferers were taken in nearly all parts of the world, 
and over $7,500,000 were raised. 2. During the same fall, 
wide-spread conflagrations raged in the forests of Wisconsin, 
Minnesota, and Michigan. Entire villages were consumed. 
1,500 people perished in Wisconsin alone. 3. An extensive 
fire occurred in Boston November 9, 1872. It swept over 
sixty acres in the center of the wholesale trade of that city, 
and destroyed $70,000,000 worth of property. 

Foreign A£fairs. — Treaty of WasJiington. — The refusal 
of the English government to pay the damages to American 
commerce caused by the Alabama and other Confederate 
cruisers (p. 268) produced bitter feeling, and even threatened 
war. A high commission, composed of distinguished states- 
men and jurists from both countries, accordingly met in 
Washington, and arranged the basis of a treaty between the 
United States and Great Britain, settling this and other 
causes of dispute. According to its provisions, the claim 
for losses was submitted to a board of arbitrators, who, hav- 
ing convened at Geneva, Switzerland, awarded the United 
13 



290 



EPOCH VI. 



[187a 




HON. HAMILTON FISH. JUSTICE NELSON. EARL GREY. PROF. BERNARD. 

GEN. SCHENCK. ATTY.-GEN. WILLIAMS. LORD TENTERDEN. SIR JOHN MAODONALD. 

THE HIGH JOINT COMMISSION IN SESSION. 

States $15,500,000 in gold. The difficulty with regard to 
the Northwestern boundary between the United States and 
British America was submitted to the Emperor of Germany, 
and was decided in favor of the United States. Thus hap- 
pily all danger of war was averted, and the great principle of 
the settlement of disputes by peaceful arbitration rather than 
by the sword was finally established. 

Proposed Annexation of Santo Domingo* — This republic, 

* The island of Santo Domingo is the " New World's classic land." Here Colum- 
bus founded the first white colony on this side of the Atlantic, and transporting 
hither animals, trees, shrubs, vines, and grains, so to speak, grafted the old world 
upon the new. Hither, also, flocked the bold, adventurous, ambitious Spanish mul- 
titude (see p. 26). Great cities sprung up, rivaling the majestic proportions of Moor- 
ish capitals. Magnificent enterprises were set on foot and prospered. Here Ponce 
de Leon renewed his ambition, and set forth afresh on an expedition to Porto Eico, 
and thence to Florida, in search of the Fountain of Youth (see p. 26). "A century 
before Henry Hudson sailed up the noble river that perpetuates his name— more than 
a century before the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock— the city of Santo Domingo 
was a rich and populous center of industry and trade. Some of its palaces and 
churches still remain, massive and splendid; among them, the great cathedral begun 
in 1514 and finished in IMO." But the Spanish policy of greed and oppression gradu- 
ally undermined itself. lu ITD.j, when Santo Domingo was ceded to France, it was 
"abandoned to such a degree that it was a mere wilderness, devoted to the grazing 
of cattle." Yet, in spite of past tyranny, of neglect, and the knowledge that they had 



1870.J ORANT'S ADMlKlSTRATlOif. 301 

comprising a large part of the island of Hayti, applied for 
admission to the United States. A commission of eminent 
men, appointed by the President to visit the island and 
examine its condition, reported favorably. The measure, 
however, was rejected by Congress. 

" The Virginius." — In 1868, Cuba attempted to throw off 
the Spanish yoke. Great sympathy was felt in the United 
States for the patriots, and repeated efforts were made to 
send them aid. In spite of the vigilance of the authorities, 
the Virginius, loaded with men and supplies, escaped from 
port in the fall of this year. While still on the high seas, 
and flying the American flag, she was captured by the 
Spanish war steamer Tornado and carried into Santiago. 
Many of her crew and passengers were summarily shot. The 
United States consul at that port protested in vain. Presi- 
dent Grant interfered with a strong hand. The Virginius 
was thereupon released, and suitable apologies were made for 
the insult offered to the United States flag. 

Political Parties.— The liberal republican party, consist- 
ing of republicans opposed to the administration, nominated 
Horace Greeley* of New York for the presidential term com- 

been " sold like a herd of cattle " to a foreign master, the Dominicans were loyal to 
Spain, and when Napoleon I. took possession of Madrid in 1808, they indignantly rose 
in arms, overpowered the French garrisons, and made themselves masters of their 
own country. They then rehoisted the Spanish flag, and in 1814, by the treaty of 
Paris, Santo Domingo was formally restored to that country. Meanwhile, the few 
years of interval had taught them some of the pleasures of liberty, and the seed then 
implanted grew rapidly. In 1821, they severed their connection with the mother 
country, but only to be absorbed by the more thriving and populous Hayti. In 1844, 
the Dominican Eepublic declared itself free and independent. Great Britain, France, 
Spain, Denmark, Holland, and Sardinia formally recognized it, and sent representa- 
tives to its capital. After seventeen years of struggle against European intrigue and 
Haytien aggression, it again lapsed into a Spanish dependency. Its story for the next 
four years is successively one of oppression, of revolt, of bloody wars, and of ultimate 
Buccess. The Spanish fleet took final leave in 1865, and left the brave Dominicans to 
their weU-earned freedom. 

* Horace Greeley was born at Amherst, N. H., February 3, 1811. At two years of 
age, he began to study the newspapers given him for amusement ; and at four, could 
read anything placed before hira. At six, he was able to spell any word in the Eng- 



292 



EPOCH IV. 



[1872. 



mencing 1873. The democratic party endorsed this nom- 
ination. The republicans renominated President Grant, 
who was elected. 

Grant's Second Term — Domestic Affairs. — The Modoc 
India7is having refused to stay upon their reservation in 
Oregon, troops were sent against them. The savages there- 



lish language, was somewhat versed in geography and arithmetic, and had read the 
entire Bible. His passion for books increased with his years, and at an early age he 
determined to be a printer. At fifteen, he entered the office of the Northern Specta- 
tor, at East Poultney, Vt. His wages wai-e forty dollars a year, the greater part of 
which was saved and sent to his father, then struegling in poverty upon a farm in 
Pennsylvania. The Spectator having failed, in 1831 Greeley went to New York. He 

landed with ten dollars 
and a scanty outfit tied in 
a handkerchief. Frauk- 
lin-like, he traversed the 
streets in search of work 
— along, stooping, stock- 
ingless figure, in linen 
roundabout, short trou- 
sers, and drooping hat, 
with his out-grown cot- 
ton wristbands made to 
meet with twine. Dili- 
gence, integrity, and 
ability won him a ready 
rise when employment 
was at last secured. Ten 
years later, he founded 
the New York Tribune. 
He served in Congress In 
1848-'49, where he was 
known for his opposition 
to the abuses of the mile- 
age system. When civil 
war seemed imminent, 
he advocated a peaceable 
division of the country ; 
but after it opened, he 
urged a vigorous pros- 
ecution of hostilities. At the close of the war, he pleaded for immediate conciliation, 
and was a signer of the bail-bond which restored Jefferson Davis to liberty after two- 
years imprisonment in Fortress Monroe. 

Horace Greeley was pure, simple, and conscientious in character. He had a pecu- 
liar disregard for dress, and neglected many of the courtesies of society ; but he was 
a true gentleman at heart, and possessed rare gifts in conversation. He was fond of 
agriculture, and spent his leisure days on his farm at Chappaqua. Just before the 
close of the presidential canvass his wife died, and this, together with the desertion 
of friends and the excitement of the contest, unsettled his mind. He was carried to 
a private asylum, where he died Noveinber 89, 1878. 




HORACE GREELEY, FOUNDER OF THE TRIBUNE. 



l873-] grant's ADMINISTRATION". 293 

upon retreated to their fastnesses in the Lava Beds. The 
peace commissioners, hoping to arrange the difficulty, held 
a conference with the chiefs. In the midst of the council, 
the Indians treacherously slew General Canby and Kev. 
Dr. Thomas and wounded Mr. Meachem. The Modocs were 
then bombarded in their stronghold, and finally forced to 
surrender. Captain Jack and several of the leaders of the 
band were executed at Fort Klamath, October 3, 1873. 

Tlie Credit MoUlier was a company organized for the pur- 
pose of building the Pacific Railroad. The undertaking 
proved a profitable one, and enormous dividends were paid. 
An investigation developed the startling fact that various 
high officers of the government had accepted presents of 
stock, the value of which necessarily depended largely upon 
their official action. 

Railroad Panic. — In the autumn of 1873, Jay Cooke & Co., 
bankers of Philadelphia, having engaged too extensively in 
railroad schemes, failed. A financial crisis ensued, and hun- 
dreds of prominent firms all over the Union were involved 
in ruin. A settled stringency of the money market and a 
stagnation of business followed. 

Centennial Anniversaries. — The year 1875, being the hun- 
dredth anniversary of the first year of the Revolutionary War, 
was marked by various centennial observances. April 19, 
the battles of Lexington and Concord were celebrated with 
patriotic pride. May 20, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, 
North Carolina, honored the memory of those who, at Char- 
lotte, signed a Declaration of Independence only ten days 
after the capture of Ticonderoga. June 17 witnessed, at 
Bunker Hill, an unprecedented gathering from all parts of 
the country. Northern and Southern soldiers vying in devo- 
tion to the flag of the Union. 

The Centennial Exhibition. — To commemorate the signing 



294 



EPOCH VI. 



[1876. 



of the Declaration of Independence, an exhibition of the arts 
and industries of all nations was held at Philadelphia, during 
the summer of 1876. The beautiful grounds of Fairmount 
Park were the scene of this imposing display. The principal 
edifices were the Main Exhibition Building, the Memorial 
Hall, the Machinery Hall, the Horticultural and Agi-icultural 
Buildings, and the Woman's Pavilion. The first named 




THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDING AT THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 



covered an area of over twenty-six acres. In addition to 
these structures, there were more than two hundred smaller 
buildings scattered over the extensive grounds.* The exhi- 
bition opened May 10, and lasted six months. The average 
daily attendance was abo^^t 61,000 persons. 

War with the Sioux (1877). f — The Sioux Indians having 
refused to go upon the reservation assigned them by treaty 

* See Barnes's Handred Years of American Independence, a Bupplement to which 
Is entirely devoted to the Centennial Exhibition. 

+ The Black Hills, which are in Dakota and Wyoming, belonged to the Sioux Res- 
ervation. But gold having been found there, bands of miners began to prospect on 
the Indian domain ; a bill was introduced into Congress to extinguish the Indian title 
to a portion of the Black Hill region ; and, finally, a new treaty was negotiated. But 
the unwillingness of the Indians to leave, the encroachments of the whites, and the 
advent of surveyors and troops, all combined to provoke hostilities. 



1877-] 



GRAKT'S ADMINISTRATION. 



295 



and committed many atrocities, a force of regular troops was 
sent against them. General Custer led the advance with the 
Seventh Cavalry, while General Terry moved up the Big Horn 
to attack them in the rear. On the 2oth of June, General 
Custer suddenly came upon the enemy. Without waiting 
for support, he detached 
Colonel Reno with four 
companies to fall upon the 
back of the Indian vil- 
lage, while he immediately 
charged the savages in 
front with the remainder 
of his command. A des- 
perate conflict ensued. 
General Custer, his two 
brothers, his nephew, and 
every one of his men were 
killed. Colonel Keno was 
surrounded, but held his 
ground on the bluffs until 

reinforcements arrived. The Indians were soon beaten on 
every hand, and by the following spring were so scattered as 
to be comparatively harmless. 

Political Partie.3. — The republican party nominated 
General Eutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, for President, and 
Wm. A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice-President. The 
democratic party chose Samuel J. Tilden, of New York, and 
Thomas A. Hendricks, of Indiana. The independent green- 
back party selected Peter Cooper, of New York, and Samuel 
¥. Gary, of Ohio. This presidential campaign was so hotly 
contested between the republicans and the democrats, and 
such irregularities were charged against the elections in 
Oregon, South Carolina, Plorida, and Louisiana, that both 




GROUP OF SIOUX INDIANS. 



296 



EPOCH VI. 



[1877. 




RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



and 184 for Tilden and Hendricks. 



dates were therefore declared to be elected, f 



these parties claimed 
the victory. In order 
to settle the dispute. 
Congress agreed to 
refer the contested 
election returns to a 
Joint Electoral Com- 
mission, composed of 
five senators, five rep- 
resentatives, and five 
judges of the Su- 
preme Court. * This 
body decided that 
185 electoral votes 
had been cast for 
Hayes and Wheeler, 
The republican candi- 



* The Senators chosen were Messrs. Bayard, Edmunds, Frelinghtiysen, Morton, 
and Thurman. The Representatives were Messrs. Abbott, Garfield, Hoar, Hunton, 
and Payne. The Associate Justices of the Supreme Court selected were Messrs. 
Bradley, Cliflbrd, Field, Miller, and Strong. 

+ The principal political questions which agitated the country during this cam- 
paign were, (1) the Southern policy of the government, and (2) the civil service 
reform. 

It was held on one side that negroes and republicans at the South were intimidated 
by force and prevented from voting, and that the presence of the United States troop.=) 
was necessary to the preservation of the rights of the citizens, free discussion, a free 
ballot, and an enforcement of the laws. It was asserted, on the other side, that the 
nse of the troops for such purposes was unconstitutional ; that the intimidation was 
only imaginary, or could be readily controlled by the local authorities ; and that the 
presence of the military provoked violence and was a constant insult and menace to 
the States. 

President Jackson, as we have seen (p. 175), introduced into our politics the prin- 
ciple of " rotation in oiKce." This policy steadily gained favor until Marcy's maxim, 
" To the victors belong the spoils," became the commonly-accepted view ; and after 
every important election, the successful party was accustomed to fill even the menial 
offices of government with its favorites. Under such a system, the qualification of 
the applicant was of much less importance than the service he had done the party. 
Hayes promised to make " no dismissal except for cause, and no promotion except 
for merit." 



1877] Hayes's admintstratiok. 297 

HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION.* 

(NINETEENTH PRESIDENT: 1877-1881.) 

Domestic Affairs. — U. 8. Troofjs at the South With- 
drawn. — President Hayes's Southern policy was one of con- 
ciliation. The troops which had hitherto sustained the 
republican State governments in South Carolina and Louis- 
iana were withdrawn, and democratic officials at once took 
control of the local affairs. 

A Railroad Strike was inaugurated by workmen on the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the summer of 1877. The 
cause was a reduction of wages by the managers of the dif- 
ferent roads in the country. Seventy trains were stopped 
near Martinsburg, W. Va., and the blockade was raised only 
by the arrival of regular troops. The strike, however, rapidly 
extended to nearly all the principal railroads in the Northern 
States. Travel was suspended, and business came to a stand- 
still. A tumult occurred in Baltimore, which was suppressed 
with some bloodshed. There was a terrible riot at Pittsburg, 
Pa., and cars, buildings, and an immense amount of property 
were destroyed, the loss of the Pennsylvania Eailroad being 
estimated at $3,000,000. The troops at last quelled the dis- 
turbance, but at the cost of about one hundred lives. There 
were alarming riots also at Hornellsville, N. Y., at Chicago, 
HI., at Louisville, Ky., and at Reading, Pa. These were sup- 

* Rutherford B, Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1822. At sixteen 
he entered Kenyon College, where he graduated as valedictorian of his class. After 
graduation at Harvard Law School, he was admitted to the bar in 1845. At the 
breaking out of the Civil War he received a commission as major of the Twenty-third 
Ohio Volunteers. In camp, he proved attentive to the wants of his men ; in battle, 
he inspired them with his own dashing bravery. While yet in the field he was elected 
to Congress, where he served two terms. Soon after he was chosen governor of 
Ohio, being twice re-elected — the last time after a brilliant, hard-money campaign, 
which attracted national attention, and his success in which gave him standing before 
the country as a candidate for the presidency. 



298 EPOCH TI. [1877. 

pressed, in part, by regular troops, but the militia generally 
proved reliable, and the citizen soldiery in this perilous crisis 
merited the gratitude of the republic. Quiet was finally 
restored, but the coal regions of Pennsylvania remained for 
a long time in disorder. 




THE SILVER DOLLAR (18/8). 

''Bland Silver Bill." — In 1873, Congress demonetized 
silver, and made gold the sole standard of our currency. 
Opposition to this idea gradually arose, and in 1877 a bill 
was introduced into Congress making silver a legal tender 
in payment of debts. This measure, after having been 
amended, was passed (February 21, 1878). 

The Yellow Fever broke out in New Orleans during the 
summer of 1878, and spread with alarming rapidity north- 
ward along the Mississippi into Missouri and Tennessee. 
Over 20,000 cases, with 7,000 deaths, were reported. 

The Resiimptio7i of Specie Payments (1879) brought gold 
and silver once more into general circulation. On Decem- 
ber 17, 1879, gold, for the first time since January, 1862, 
sold in New York at par. 

hulian Difficultij (1879).— The Ute Indians at the White 
River agency, dissatisfied by the encroachments of the miners 



1879.] HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION. 299 

and the non-payment of money promised by the government, 
took up arms, massacred the white men at the agent's station, 
and also Major Thoyibnrgh, who, with a small force, was 
marching to subdue the revolt. The U. S. troops were hur- 
ried thither, and peace was once more restored. 

Prosjjerity of the Country. — The census of 1880 showed 
that the population of the United States was over 50,000,000, 
a gain of about 10,000,000 in the decade. During this 
administration (1877-1881), the national debt was reduced 
$209,000,000, leaving the entire amount still due about 
$2,000,000,000. The total exports for the four years ex- 
ceeded $3,000,000,000. 

Foreign Affairs. — Fishery Award (1878). — Difficulties 
having arisen between the United States and Great Britain 
concerning the fisheries of the Northeastern coast, the matter 
was referred, by the Treaty of Washington (p. 289), to a com- 
mission for adjudication. This body sat at Halifax, Nova 
Scotia, and awarded Great Britain the sum of $5,500,000. 

Treaty with China (1880). — Two treaties between China 
and the United States were signed at Pekin — one in relation 
to commerce, and the other granting to our government the 
regulation of the Chinese immigi'ation. 

Political Parties. — The republican party nominated 
General James A. Garfield, of Ohio, for President, and 
Chester A. Arthur, of New York, for Vice-President. The 
democratic party nominated General Win field S. Hancock, 
of Pennsylvania, for President, and William H. English, or 
Indiana, for Vice-President. The gTeenback-labor party 
nominated James B. Weaver, of Iowa, for President, and 
Benjamin J. Chambers, of Texas, for Vice-President. 

After one of the most bitter and exciting contests the 
republican candidates were elected by a small majority on, 
the popular vote. 



300 EPOCH VI. [1881. 

GARFIELD'S ADMINISTRATION. 

(TWENTIETH PRESIDENT: 1881-1885.) 

The Inauguration of the twentieth President marked the 
hundredth year after the close of the Revolutionary War, 
and the twentieth from the beginning of the Civil War. The 
cordial reception of the inaugural address in all parts of the 
country promised a new " Era of good feeling," like that 
which marked the administration of Monroe. Garfield 
chose the following cabinet : James G. Blaine, of Maine, 
Secretary of State ; William Windom, of Minnesota, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury ; Wayne McVeagh, of Pennsylvania, 
Attorney-General ; Thomas L. James, of New York, Post- 
master-General ; Samuel J. Kirkwood, of Iowa, Secretary of 
the Interior ; Robert T. Lincoln, of Illinois, Secretary of 
War; William H. Hunt, of Louisiana, Secretary of the Navy. 

States Admitted during this Epoch. — Nehrasha, the 
thirty-seventh State, was admitted to the Union March 1, 
1867. The name signifies "water valley." Colorado, the 
thirty-eighth State, was received March 3, 1875. Its consti- 
tution, however, was not ratified by the people until July 1, 
1876; whence it is known as the " Centennial State." This 
region was explored by Corouado in 1540, while De Soto 
was rambling over the site of the future Gulf States. 



QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 



THESE questions are placed at the close of the work rather than at 
the foot of each page, in order to compel a more independent use of 
the book. As far as possible, topical recitations should be encouraged. 
On naming the subject of a paragraph, the pupil should be expected 
to tell all he knows about it. A little patience and practice in this 
method will achieve wonderful results. The following pages often 
present topical questions in the hope of gradually leading the pupil to 
this system of study. The figures refer to the pages of the book. 



INTRODUCTION. 

9. From what continent did the first inhabitants of America probably 
come ? How did they get here ? (At that time it is probable that 
Behring Strait was not cut through, and the two continents were con- 
nected.) What remains of these people are found ? Where do they 
occur? 

10. What proof is there of their antiquity ? Describe the ruins at 
Newark, Ohio. The mound at St. Louis. The embankment in Adams 
County, Ohio. Are earth-works permanent ? Describe the ruins in 
South America. Who were the mound-builders ? 

11. What became of them? Who succeeded them ? How did the 
Indians compare with them ? What do you say of the number of the 
Indians ? Where most numerous ? Were there any blacksmiths, 
carpenters, etc., among them ? 

12-13. Were they a progressive people ? In what were they skilled ? 
How did they regard labor ? 12. Describe the life of their women. 

14-16. The Indian disposition. His power of endurance. His 
religion. Did he have any idea of God? What policy should be 
pursued toward the Indian ? Who were the Northmen ? What 
traditions about their having discovered and settled America? Are 
these stories credible? Are there any remains of this people now 
existing ? Were their discoveries of any value ? At what date does 
the history of this country begin ? Name the subjects and limits of 
the six epochs into which this history is divided. 



U QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 



FIRST EPOCH. 

19. What was the state of geographical knowledge in Europe in the 
fifteenth century? Why could not sailors have crossed the ocean 
before as well as then ? Why were books of travel more abundant 
then 'i Why so eagerly read ? 

20. By what route were the goods from the East obtained ? What 
was the problem of that day? Columbus's idea? What facts 
strengthened his view? (See p. 21.) Tell something of his life. 

21. Why did he seek assistance ? Before whom did he lay his plan ? 
How was it received ? Did the king treat him fairly ? To whom did 
Columbus apply next? How was he regarded? What reply was 
made him ? 

22. What did Columbus's friends do for him ? What offer did Queen 
Isabella make? Were her jewels sold ? What new trouble assaUed 
Columbus ? What vessels composed his fleet ? Give some of the inci- 
dents of the voyage. 

23. Did Columbus waver? (There seems to be no truth in the 
common statement that he promised to turn back, if he did not discover 
land in three days.) Describe the discovery of land. The landing. 
When and where was this ? What region did Columbus think he had 
reached ? What was the result ? For what did he search ? What 
other islands did he discover ? 

24. Describe his reception on his return. How many subsequent voy- 
ages did Columbus make ? What settlement did he make ? (p. 289. ) Did 
he discover the main-land ? Did he know that he had found a new con- 
tinent ? Where is Columbus's tomb ? How was the continent named ? 

25. What was the plan of John Cabot ? What discoveries did he 
make ? Did his discoveries antedate those of Columbus ? Where and 
when is it probable the American continent was discovered ? What 
discoveries did Sebastian Cabot make ? Did England improve them ? 
Of what value were they ? 

26. What four nations explored the territory of the future United 
States ? Wbat portion of the continent did each explore? What was 
the feeling in Spain ? What effect was produced ? Why did Ponce de 
Leon come to the new world ? 

27. What land did he discover ? Why did he so name it ? What 
success did he meet ? What discovery did Balboa make ? Describe 
the expedition of De Narvaez. Its fate. Of De Soto. Of De Ayllon. 

28. What region did De Soto traverse ? Did he make any valuable 
discoveries? What river was his burial place? When? What be- 
came of his companions ? 

29. When, where, and by whom was the first town in the United 
States founded ? Meaning of the word California in the sixteenth 



QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. lU 

century? "Why did Cortez explore that region ? Who made the first 
voyage along the Pacific coast ? Which is the second oldest town in 
the United States ? When and by whom founded '? What was the 
great wish of maritime nations ? 

30. What was the extent of the Spanish possessions in the new 
world ? Who was the first French navigator to reach the continent ? 
When ? What name did he give it ? Who discovered the River St. 
Lawrence ? Why did he so name it ? Ans. From the name of the day 
on which it was discovered. Why was Montreal so named ? Describe 
the attempt to plant a colony of convicts. Why did this fail? 

31. Wlio were the Huguenots? What was Coligny's plan? Who 
led the first expedition ? Fate of the colony ? The second expedition ? 
Amusing story of the longevity of the Indians ? 

33. Fate of the colony ? What French navigator was the next to 
ascend the St. Lawrence ? How did he find things at Hochelaga ? 
When, where, and by whom was the first permanent French settlement 
made in America ? How much land was granted ? 

83. When, where, and by whom was the first permanent French 
settlement made in Canada ? What journey did Champlain make 1 
What discoveries ? The consequence of his trip ? Who explored the 
Mississippi valley ? What relics of them remain ? Tell something of 
their heroism. Of Father Marquette. Of his death. 

34. Of La Salle. What were the results of French enterprise? 
How did it compare with English enterprise ? When did the English 
awake to the importance of American discovery ? Who made the first 
attempt to carry out Cabot's plan ? 

35. What success did he have ? Was the discovery of gold profit- 
able ? What discovery did Sir Francis Drake make ? 

36. What was the view of Sir Humphrey Gilbert ? His fate? Who 
adopted his plan? Give some account of Sir Walter Raleigh. Why 
was "Virginia so named ? Where did Raleigh plant his first colony ? 
Give its history. 

37. What did the colonists introduce into England on their return ? 
Story told of Raleigh's smoking? Give the history of the second 
colony. What kept the interest in America alive ? How did Gosnold 
shorten the voyage across the Atlantic? 

38. What discoveries did Gosnold make ? Captain Pring ? Results 
of these explorations ? What was South Virginia ? North "Virginia ? 
Where, when, and by whom was the first English settlement made in 
the United States ? What became of the colony sent out the same 
year by the Plymouth company ? Tell some of the provisions of the 
charter granted to these companies. What is a charter? Ans. A 
document which confers the title to certain land, and, not unlike a 
constitution, defines the form of government, and secures to the people 
certain rights and privOeges. 



IV QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

39. Who entered New York harbor next after Verrazani? Was Hud- 
son a Dutchman ? (K;s given name was Henry, not Heindrich, as often 
stated.) What river did he discover ? What claim did the Dutch found 
on this discovery ? What name did they give to the region ? State the 
claims of these four nations, and the settlements they had made. 

40. Why were these claims conflicting ? Had these nations any idea 
of the extent of the country ? Which nation ultimately secured the 
whole region ? Which centuries were characterized by explorations, 
and which century by settlements ? Name the permanent settlements 
which were made at the beginning of the seventeenth century. 

SECOND EPOCH. 

45. Name the thirteen colonies. Were they united during this 
epoch ? 

46. What was the character of the Virginia colonists ? What was 
their success ? Describe the services of John Smith. Give some of the 
incidents of his life. 

47. What was his theory of founding a colony ? Tell the story of 
his capture by the Indians. 

48. What change in the government of the colony was made by the 
second charter? Was it based on the principle of self-government ? 
Why did Smith leave ? What was its effect on the colony ? Tell some- 
thing of the " Starving Time." 

49. How did relief come ? What change was made by the third 
charter ? Describe the marriage of Pocahontas. Her visit to England. 
Where was the first legislative body held ? 

50. When was the first constitution given? Of what value were 
these charters ? Give some particulars of the prosperity of the colony. 
Of the culture of tobacco. Of the purchase of wives. When and how 
was slavery introduced ? Why ? 

51. Why did the Indians now become hostile? Give some account 
of the massacre. Its result. What new change was made in the 
government ? Cause ? What was the Navigation Act ? Why was it 
oppressive ? What was the conduct of the assembly ? 

52. What division arose among the people? Give the history of 
Bacon's rebellion. Was Bacon a patriot or a rebel? What was the 
conduct of Berkeley ? What curious fact illustrates the ruling senti- 
ment of Massachusetts and of Virginia at that time ? What coinci- 
dence between this event and the Revolution? 

53. Describe John Smith's explorations at the north. What authority 
was granted to the Council of New England ? What became of the 
Plymouth Company ? Give some account of the landing of the 
Pilgrims. Who were the Puritans ? What was the difference between 



QUESTIOlfS FOR CLASS USE V 

the Puritans and the Pilgrims ? Why did the Pilgrims come to this 
country ? When ? 

54. What was their character ? What story is told to illustrate theii 
piety? Describe their sufferings. What is " Plymouth Rock " ? What 
do you mean by Dec. 11, O. S. and Dec. 21, N. S. ? Why did not the 
Indians disturb them ? 

55. What Indians visited them in the spring ? How did Governor 
Bradford reply to Canonicus's threat ? Tell about the scarcity of food. 
How did the plan of working in common succeed ? 

56. Did they have any more privileges than the Jamestown colonists ? 
Who settled about Massachusetts Bay ? Why was this colony popu- 
lar ? Who founded Salem ? Boston ? Did the Puritans tolerate other 
Churches? Why not? Give an account of the difficulty with Roger 
Williams. 

57. Where did he go? Wliat settlement did he found? Why did 
Mrs. Hutchinson become obnoxious ? State the treatment of the 
Quakers. What union of the colonies was now formed ? What was 
its object? What Indian chiefs befriended Massachusetts and Vir- 
ginia in their early history ? (The grandson of Massasoit was sold as 
a slave in the West Indies. ) 

58. Give an account of King Philip's war. Of the " swamp fight." 
Of the attack on Hadley. How did the colonists protect themselves ? 

59. How was the war finally ended ? How did the Navigation Act 
affect Massachusetts ? Did the Puritans obey it ? What change now 
took place in the government ? Give some account of Andros's rule. 
What action did the colonists take ? What form of government was 
finally imposed upon them ? 

60. Give an account of the Salem witchcraft. What is a " witch " ? 
Was this delusion common at that time ? What two colonies were 
intimately united to Massachusetts ? What was Laconia ? 

61. Give an account of the early settlement of New Hampshire. 
Of Maine. What is said of the claims made upon the land by the 
heirs of these proprietors ? Why are these States so named ? Who 
obtained a grant of the territory now embraced in Coimecticut ? Who 
claimed this region ? 

63. Give an account of the early settlement at Windsor. Hartford. 
Saybrook. How were the Narraganset Indians kept from joining the 
Pequods against the whites ? Describe the attack upon the Pequod fort. 

63. What three colonies were formed in Connecticut ? What pecu- 
liarities in the government of each ? How were they combined into 
one colony ? Why was the charter so highly prized ? What story is 
told of Andros's visit ? 

64. What colony was established the same year that Hooker went to 
Hartford? What exiles settled Rhode Island ? Why was the island so 
called ? What fact illustrates Williams's generosity ? 



VI QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

65. What was his favorite idea ? Why was not the colony allowed 
to join the New England Union ? How was a charter secured ? What 
was its character ? Give an account of the settlement of New York by 
the Dutch. Who were the " patroons " ? 

66. What was the character of the history of New York under its 
four Dutch governors ? Who was the ablest of them ? How much 
territory did he claim ? How did he settle the boundary lines ? Tell 
something of the growth of liberty among the people. 

67. Describe old Peter's reluctance to surrender to the English. 
Why was the colony named New York ? Were the people pleased 
with the English rule ? Was the English occupation permanent ? Was 
civil liberty secured under Andros ? Dongan ? What course did the 
Duke of York take when he became King of England ? Tell how 
Captain Leisler came to assume the government. Of his trial and 
execution. 

68. In what colony was New Jersey formerly embraced ? Who first 
settled it ? When, to whom, and by whom was the land granted ? 
Where and by whom was the first English settlement made? Why so 
called ? How divided ? Who settled the different parts ? 

69. How did New Jersey come to be united to New York ? To be 
made a separate royal province ? Where and by whom was the first 
settlement in Delaware made? In Pennsylvania? Who was the 
founder of Pennsylvania ? Give some account of William Penn. Of 
the Quakers. 

70. How did Penn come to obtain a grant of this region ? Why was 
it so named? What was Delaware styled ? How did Penn settle the 
territory ? What city did he found ? Meaning of the name ? Rapidity 
of its growth ? What was the " Great Code " ? Was religious tolera- 
tion granted? 

71. Give an account of Penn's treaty with the Indians. In what 
spirit did Penn treat the colony ? 

72. How came Delaware to be separated from Pennsylvania ? Was 
this separation total? How did Pennsylvania secure the title to its 
soil ? With what intent did Lord Baltimore secure a grant of land in 
America ? When was the first settlement made ? Why was Maryland 
so named? What class of people generally settled this country? 

73. What advantage did the Maryland charter confer ? What was the 
" Toleration Act " ? How did religious toleration vary in the colonies? 
Give an account of Claiborne's rebellion. Of the difficulties between 
the Catholics and the Protestants. 

74. What territory was granted to Lord Clarendon ? By whom was 
the Albemarle colony settled ? What course did the proprietors take ? 
By whom was the Carteret colony settled ? What location did they 
select ? What do you say of the rapidity of its growth ? 

75. Who were the Huguenots ? What beneficial influence did they 



QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. Vli 

have on the colony? What was the "Grand Model"? How was it 
unfitted for a new country ? How was it received ? What were the 
relations between the proprietors and settlers ? How were the diflBcul- 
ties ended ? How came Carolina to be divided ? 

76. By what coincidence is Georgia linked with Washington ? With 
what intention was this colony planned ? Character of the settlers ? 
Restrictions of the trustees ? Result ? 

77. How many inter-colonial wai's were there ? If you include the 
Spanish war? (Seep. 80, note.) Duration of King William's war? 
Cause ? Describe the Indian attacks upon the colonists. Tell the 
story of Mrs. Dustin. 

78. What attacks were made by the colonists in return ? Were they 
successful ? What was the result of the war ? 

79. Length of Queen Anne's war? Cause? Where was the war 
mainly fought ? Effect upon New England ? What attack by the col- 
onists at the south ? At the north ? Tell the story of Mrs. Williams. 

80. Result of the war? Length of King George's war? Cause? 
Principal event ? Give an account of the capture of Louisburg. Of 
the Spanish war. 

81. Result of the war? Length of the French and Indian war? 
Cause ? Occasions of quarrel ? 

82. Give an account of Washington's journey to Lake Erie. His 
return. Result of his journey. 

83. What did the French do in the spring ? The Virginia troops 
under Washington? Fate of Jumonville? Give an account of the 
capture of Fort Necessity by the French. Who fired the first gun of 
this war? Name the five objective points of this war. 

84. Why were they so obstinately attacked and defended ? Give an 
account of the defeat of General Braddock. Character of Braddock. 
Conduct of Washington. 

85. Give an account of the second expedition. Who finally captured 
the fort? What city now occupies its site? What was the principal 
cause of the easy capture of the fort? (See p. 87, note.) What suc- 
cess did the English meet in Acadia ? What cruel act disgraced their 
victory ? What attempt was made on Louisburg ? Who finally cap- 
tured it ? 

86. Describe the battle of Lake George. Who earned the glory of 
this victory and who got it ? Tell the story of Dieskau's death. The 
fate of Fort William Henry. Describe the attack on Fort Ticonderoga 
by Abercrombie. 

87. When were both forts captured ? Describe the two attempts to 
capture Niagara. Who forced it to surrender ? In what year did these 
successes occur ? Describe the difficulties which General Wolfe met in 
his attack on Quebec. 

88. 89. How did he overcome them? Describe the battle on the 



Yin QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

Plains of Abraham. What was the result of the battle? The condi- 
tions of peace? 

90. Cause of Pontiac's war ? Result ? Fate of Pontiac ? What 
stratagems did the Indians use ? Effects of the French and Indian 
war? 

91. How did the British officers treat the colonial officers ? Condition 
of the colonies ? How many kinds of government ? Name and define 
each. 

92. How many colleges? Did the English government support 
educational interests ? Condition of agriculture ? Manufactures ? 

93 Commerce ? Was money plenty ? Were there many books or 
papers ? How did the people travel ? 

94. Tell something about the first public conveyance. Condition of 
morals in New England. Name some peculiar customs. Some rigid 
laws. Who was entitled to the prefix Mr. ? What were common 
people called ? Laws with regard to drinking ? Using tobacco? 

95. Tell something of the habits of the people in New York. What 
customs familiar to us are of Dutch origin ? How did the style of liv- 
ing at the south differ from that at the north ? 

96. Describe a southern plantation. What is said of Mount Vernon 
flour ? Of the luxurious living ? State of education in New England ? 
Tell something of the support given to schools. 

97. Of the founding of Yale College. Of their town meetings. Of 
the state of education in the middle colonies. How were the ministers' 
salaries met ? 

98. What was the state of education in the southern colonies ? Pro- 
vision made for public worship ? Give some idea of the early Virginia 
laws concerning worship. 



THIRD EPOCH. 

101. How did England treat the colonies? Give some illustrations. 

102. What was the tendency of this course of conduct ? What was 
the direct cause of war? What were Writs of Assistance? The 
Stamp Act ? Teil the story of Patrick Henry. 

103. What efforts were made to resist the law ? What effect did they 
have on the English government? Was this permanent ? What was 
the Mutiny Act ? Why was it passed ? 

104. How was it received by the colonists? Tell about the Boston 
Massacre. When? The Boston Tea Party. Why was the tea thrown 
overboard ? For what is Faneuil Hall noted ? What did the English 
now do ? 

106, 107. What parties were formed? What action did the colonists 
take ? When and where was the " First Continental Congress " held ? 



QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. IX 

What action did it take ? When and where was the first blood spilled ? 
Describe how the battle of Lexington occurred. 

108, 109. Effects of this battle. Tell how the battle of Bunker Hill 
occurred. Describe it. Tell something of ' ' Old Put." 

110. Effect of the battle. Describe the death of General Warren. 
Give some account of Ethan Allen. Why were the New Hampshire 
Grants so called ? Describe the capture of Ticonderoga. 

111. Meeting of Second Continental Congress. Its action. What 
was the condition of the army ? What expedition was undertaken 
against Canada 1 

112. Describe the attack upon Quebec. Its end. How were the 
British forced to leave Boston ? 

113. How had they treated the Boston people? The Boston boys? 
Describe the attack on Fort Moultrie. Its effect. Tell the story of 
Sergeant Jasper. 

114. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted? How 
many colonies voted for it? Tell the story of the old " liberty bell." 
How did the campaign near New York occur ? Describe the battle of 
Long Island. 

115. What decided it in favor of the English? By what providen- 
tial circumstance did the Americans escape ? What were the prison 
ships? Who were the Hessians? Tell the story of Nathan Hale. 

116. 117. What battles occurred while Washington was falling back ? 
Describe his retreat through New Jersey. How did he escape ? What 
general was captured by the enemy ? What was the condition of the 
country? Describe the battle of Trenton. Tell the story of Rail. 

118. The effect of this battle. Name the battles of 1776 in order. 
Describe the battle of Princeton. What providential circumstance 
favored the attack ? 

119. How did the battle of Brandy wine occur ? Describe it. What 
decided it in favor of the English ? What previous battle did it resem- 
ble ? Give some account of La Fayette. 

120. 121. Describe the battle of Germantown. Why did the Ameri- 
cans fail ? How did the campaign in Pennsylvania close ? What dis- 
astrous attempt was made by the British at the north ? Describe the 
burning of Danbury, the capture of General Prescott, and the murder 
of Jane McCrea. What events attended General Burgoyne's march 
south ? What measures were taken to check his advance ? 

122. Who succeeded Gereral Schuyler ? What was Schuyler's con- 
duct ? What events deranged Burgoyne's plans ? How was the siege 
of Fort Schuyler (Stanwix) raised? Tell something of Kosciusko. 

123. Of the battle of Bennington. For what incident is it noted? 

124. Describe the first battle of Saratoga. The second battle. Who 
was the hero of the fight ? How did General Fraser die ? Tell some 
incidents of the campaign. 



X QUESTIOlSrS FOR CLASS USE. 

125. EflEect of these fights? Name the battles of 1777 in order. 
Describe the sufferings at Valley Forge. 

126. How could the soldiers endure such misery? What news came 
in the spring ? Story told of Washington by Mr. Potts ? Tell some- 
thing of the Conway cabal. What story is told of General Reed ? 

127. What caused the battle of Monmouth to happen ? Describe its 
prominent incident. Tell the history of Benjamin Franklin. 

128. Tell the story of Mary Pitcher. What became of General Lee ? 
What campaign was now planned by the aid of the French? How 
did it turn out ? Describe the Wyoming massacre. What poem has 
been written upon this event ? Ans. Campbell's Gertrude of Wyoming, 
Name the battles of 1778 in order. 

129. Wliy was the war now transferred to the south ? How did the 
campaign open ? Describe tlie attack on Savannah. Who were killed ? 
Tell something of Count Pulaski. Was the French aid of great value ? 

130. What characterized the campaign at the north ? Tell the story 
of General Putnam. Describe the capture of Stony Point. 

131. General Sullivan's expedition. What do you say of the naval 
successes ? 

132. Describe the contest between the Bon Homme Richard and the 
Serapis. What colony was conquered by the British during this year ? 
Name the principal battles of 1779 in order. 

133. What city was now captured ? What followed ? How did the 
battle of Camden occur ? Describe it. What was its result ? Tell 
something of the famous partisan warfare of those times, 

134. Name some leaders. Story of Marion. Some partisan victories. 
Death of Colonel Hayne. Effect of this independent warfare. Tell 
something of the depreciation of the continental money. 

135. What mutiny occurred ? Tell the story of Arnold's treason. 

136. Of Andre's capture and fate. Of Arnold's escape and reward. 
In what estimation was he held ? Name the principal events of 1780. 

137. Condition of the army at the south ? Who now took command ? 
Describe the battle of the Cowpens. Describe Greene's celebrated re- 
treat. How many times did the rain save him ? 

138. By what two battles was the contest at the south closed ? Were 
the English or Americans victorious ? Give anecdotes illustrative of 
the patriotism of the women. Character of General Greene. 

139. Where did Cornwallis go after the failure of his southern cam- 
paign ? What kind of war did he wage in Virginia ? Why did he 
retire to Yorktown ? What plan did Washington now adopt ? 

140. Describe the siege. Its result. The surrender. The effect. 
On what plundering tours did Arnold go ? Story told of Governor 
Nelson ? Name the principal battles of 1781 in order. 

141. How was the news of Cornwallis's surrender received ? 

142. Was all peril to our liberties over ? What was the condition of 



QUESTIONS FOB CLASS USE. xl 

the country ? What base offer was made to Washington ? How did he 
pacify the army ? When was peace signed '? What was the result ? 
What course did Washington take ? 

143. Tell something of the weakness of the government. What held 
the colonies together? Cause of Shays's rebellion'? What need was 
felt? How was it met? When was the Constitution adopted ? What 
parties arose ? How soon was the Constitution ratified ? How many 
States were necessary? When did the new government go into 
operation ? 

FOURTH EPOCH. 

147, 148. Limits of this epoch? Its characteristic idea? Who was 
the first President of the United States ? When and where was he 
inaugurated ? Where was the capital ? Name its changes. What 
was the popular feeling toward Washington ? Give some account of 
Washington's life and character. 

151. What difficulties beset the government? What departments 
were established ? Name the members of the first Cabinet. What 
financial measures were adopted ? By whose advice ? 

152. What did Webster say of Hamilton ? Give an account of the 
whisky rebellion. Of the Indian war at the northwest. What diffi- 
culty arose with England ? 

153. How was it settled ? How was the treaty received in this coun- 
try? What treaty was made with Spain? Algiers? What was the 
popular feeling toward France ? Why was Genet recalled ? What 
parties now arose ? Who were the leaders of each ? Their views ? 
Tell something of Eandolph. 

154. Who was elected second President ? Tell something of Adams's 
life. What were the alien and sedition laws ? Why were they passed ? 

155. How were they received ? How did the French difficulty look 
during this administration ? How was it terminated ? What reply did 
Pinckney make to the base offer of the French Directory ? State of 
party feeling? Who was elected third President ? Why was not Adams 
re-elected ? What was the important event of Jefferson's administra- 
tion ? Why? 

156. Tell something of Jefferson's life and character. Tell how 
Hamilton was killed. What became of Burr ? 

157. Tell something of Fulton's invention. Of the war with Tripoli, 
Of Lieutenant Decatur's exploit. 

158. What difficulty now arose with England and France ? What 
is the American doctrine ? Was the impressment of seamen general ? 

159. What was the issue of the next political campaign ? Who was 
elected fourth President ? Views of the federalists ? Give an account 



XU QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

of Madison's life and character. Of the battle of Tippecanoe. Effect 
of this Indian war. State how the breach with England widened. 

160. DiflBculty between the President and Little Belt. When was 
war declared ? How long did the war last ? What was the opening 
event of the war of 1813 '! Describe the surrender of Detroit. 

161. The battle of Queenstown Heights. How did the naval and 
the land warfare compare ? Describe the fight between the Constitu- 
tion and Guerriere. 

162. Between the Frolic and Wasp. How many prizes were captured 
by privateers ? What are privateers ? 

163. Effect of these victories ? Name the battles of 1813 in order. 
Plan of the campaign of 1813. What did the armies of the centre 
and north do ? What did the British do ? What reverse happened to 
a part of General Harrison's command? Describe this rout. Tell 
something of Proctor's brutality. 

164. Describe the three attacks made by Proctor. In which was he 
successful ? Describe Perry's victory on Lake Erie. 

165. What gallant exploit was performed by Perry ? What issues 
depended on this fight ? Describe the battle of the Thames. What 
celebrated Indian was killed ? Effect of these victories 1 Who gained 
great credit ? 

166. Describe the battle between the Chesapeake and the Shannon. 
What were Lawrence's dying words ? Who used them in battle ? 
What Indian difficulties occurred ? How did General Jackson avenge 
the massacre of Fort Mimms ? Story told of Jackson ? 

167. What ravages were committed by Admiral Cockburn ? Why 
was New England spared ? Name the principal battles of 1813 in order. 
What movement was made by General Brown ? What general led the 
advance ? 

168. What battles ensued ? Describe the battle of Lundy's Lane. 
What story is told of Colonel Miller ? What battle took place in New 
York State ? How did that happen ? Describe it. 

169. Describe the ravages made by the British on the Atlantic coast. 
Attack on Washington. On Baltimore. Eesult of these events. The 
Hartford Convention. What put an end to these fears ? Why was the 
battle of New Orleans unnecessary ? 

170. Describe this battle. How did it happen that raw militia de- 
feated English veterans ? 

171. Results of this war ? Effect upon the federalist party ? Who 
was elected fifth President ? 

173. Was Monroe a popular man? Give some account of his life 
and character. What was the characteristic of his administration ? 
What was the Missouri Compromise ? Cause of it ? 

173. Give an account of La Fayette's visit. What territory was 
gained by treaty ? What famous doctrine advanced by Monroe ? 



QUESTIONS FOE CLASS USE. nil 

What political changes now took place? What party was arising? 
Its principles ? Principles of the democratic party ? Champions of 
each party ? Which party absorbed most of the old federalists ? 
Why ? Who was elected sixth President ? How ? 

174. Give some account of the life and character of John Quincy 
Adams. Of his administration . Was it popular ? How was the pro- 
tective tarifE received ? Who was elected seventh President ? 

175. Account o^ the life and character of Jackson. Contrast him 
with John Quincy Adams. What principle did he introduce ? What 
was the nullification ordinance ? How did Jackson act ? 

176. How did Clay pacify ? What celebrated debate took place ? 
What is said of Calhoun ? Of Clay's patriotism ? What action did 
Jackson take concerning the United States bank ? Its efEect ? 

177. How did speculation become rife? Give an account of the 
Black Hawk war. The Seminole war. What is said of Osceola ? His 
fate? 

178. Difficulty with France ? How was it settled ? Who were the 
Presidential candidates ? What were their principles ? Who was 
elected eighth President ? Give an account of the life and character 
of Van Buren. Of the crisis of 1837. 

179. Its effect on trade. Of the patriot war. Of Van Buren's Sub- 
Treasury Bill. Story of the steamer Caroline. 

180. What was the northeast boundary question? How was it 
settled ? What was the Ashburton treaty V Who was elected ninth 
President ? Who was his opponent ? Give an account of the life and 
character of Harrison. What was the cause of his sudden death? 
Who succeeded him ? 

181 . Was Tyler's administration successful ? Did he remain true to 
his party ? What course did he take with regard to the United States 
Bank? Give an account of Dorr's rebellion. 

182, 183. Of the anti-rent difficulties. Of the Mormons. Of the 
origin and early history of this sect. Of the annexation of Texas. 
Why was this measure warmly opposed ? How was the northwestern 
boundary question settled ? 

184. Who were the Presidential candidates ? Give an account of 
Clay. Who was elected eleventh President? 

185. Give an account of the life of Polk. What war now broke 
out 7 Give an account of Taylor's campaign on the Rio Grande. 

186. Describe the capture of Monterey. The battle of Buena Vista. 

187. What battles had Taylor fought ? By what incident or peculiar- 
ity can you recollect each one ? Stories told of Taylor ? Account of 
Kearney's expedition. 

188. Describe the conquest of California. Who was the hero of this 
exploit ? Give an account of Colonel Doniphan's expedition. Capture 
of Vera Cruz. Battle of Cerro Gordo. 



Xiv QUESTIONS FOR CLASS-USE. 

189. What city now surrendered? Describe tlie battles before 
Mexico. The result. 

190. When was peace concluded ? What did the United States gain 
by the war ? What was the Wilmot proviso ? Give an account of the 
discovery of gold in California. 

191. Of the vigilance committees. Of the political parties. Who 
was elected twelfth President ? Give an account of the life and 
character of Taylor. How long was he President ? Who succeeded 
him ? What questions agitated the people ? 

193. Why were these now awakened ? Effect ? What course did 
Clay take ? Webster ? Give some account of Webster. 

193. What was the Compromise of 1850 ? What did it propose ? By 
what name is it commonly known ? Give an account of the fillibusters. 
Of the political parties. Who was elected fourteenth President ? 

194. Give an account of the life of Pierce. Of the Kansas-Nebraska 
bill. What is squatter sovereignty ? Tell how the public lands have 
threatened the peace of the country. How they have enhanced its 
prosperity. 

195. How did the contest arise in Kansas ? Its result ? Cause of 
Brook's assault on Sumner ? What was the Gadsden purchase ? Give 
an account of the treaty with Japan. What political parties now arose ? 

196. Who was elected fifteenth President ? Give some account of Bu- 
chanan's life. Of the Know-Nothing party. Of the Dred Scott decision. 

197. How was this regarded at the North and at the South ? Why 
was the Fugitive Slave law obnoxious ? What were Personal Liberty 
bills? Give an account of the John Brown affair. What was the ques- 
tion of the elections ? Who were nominated for the Presidency ? Who 
was elected sixteenth President ? 

198. Give an account of the secession of the South on the election of 
Lincoln. Give a history of the gradual growth of this movement. 

199. When and where was the Confederate government formed? 
Who were elected President and Vice-President? What action was 
taken? Condition of the country? Give an account of the condition 
of affairs at Fort Sumter. 

200. Was any attempt made by the United States authorities to re- 
lieve it ? For what did the nation wait ? 

No questions are given upon the new States admitted to the Union 
during this epoch, as each class will naturally commit only that which 
concerns its own State, and will wish to add to the facts given here 
those obtained from other sources. 



QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. XV 



FIFTH EPOCH. 

215. Give an account of Lincoln's inauguration. Of his early history. 
Of the condition of the country. 

216. Was war a necessity ? What precipitated this issue ? When 
was the first gun of the Civil War fired ? Give an account of the cap- 
ture of Fort Sumter. 

217. Effect of this event? What action did the North take ? The 
South ? When and wbere was the first blood shed ? What valuable 
stores were seized? How did the war in Virginia open ? 

218. How was Fortress Monroe protected from capture ? Give an 
account of the Big Bethel affair. Of the war in Western Virginia. 
Origin of the term " Contrabands." 

219. How did the battle of Bull Run take place? Describe it. By 
what peculiarity can you recollect it? Its date? How did Jackson 
receive the name of " Stonewall " ? 

220. Give an account of the retreat. Its effect. Of the battle at 
Ball's Bluff. Who now took command of the Union troops ? 

221. Give an account of the war in Missouri. What battles were 
fought ? What leaders on each side ? What Union general who after- 
ward became celebrated ? Condition of affairs in the border States? 

222. What step did Davis take ? Number of vessels in the Union 
navy ? What naval expeditions were made ? What places captured ? 
What was the peculiarity of the attack on the Port Royal forts ? De- 
scribe the Trent affair. 

223. Give a general review of the first year of the war. Describe the 
preservation of Fort Pickens. Situation at the opening of 1862. What 
was the plan of the campaign ? 

224. What was the Confederate line of defence at the West ? Union 
plan of attack ? Where was the first attack ? Describe the capture of 
Fort Henry. 

225. Fort Donelson. Story told of General Grant. Effect of these 
victories. What was the next movement ? Describe the battle of 
Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. 

226. By what peculiarity can you recoUect it ? How did the battle 
turn on the second day ? 

227. How was Corinth captured? Describe the taking of Island 
No. 10. What were the effects of the Shiloh battle ? 

228. What line was now held by the Union army ? Where were the 
Confederates located ? What movements did they make to break 
through the Union lines ? Describe Bragg's expedition. Was it suc- 
cessful ? Cause of the battles of luka and Corinth ? Result ? 

229. How was Bragg's second expedition stopped? Describe the 
battle of Murfreesboro. What was its effect ? What coincidence ? 



XVi QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

330. What was Grant's plan for an expedition against Vicksbnrg 1 
Was it successful ? What event closed the Mississippi campaign ? 
What battle was fought in Missouri ? Condition of the State '? What 
massacre occurred in Kansas ? 

231, 233. Describe the capture of New Orleans by Farragut. Bum- 
side's expedition against Roanoke Island. What was the importance 
of Roanoke Island ? 

233, 234. What places in Florida were captured? Describe the battle 
between the Monitor and the Merrimac. Its results. 

235. Object of the war in the East ? What campaign was under- 
taken ? Who was the commanding general ? Describe the siege of 
Yorktown. 

236. The battle of Williamsburg. What checked McClellan's ad- 
vance ? What battle ensued 1 Its result ? What was now the expec- 
tation of the Union army ? 

237. How did General Joseph E. Johnston thwart General McClellan's 
plan ? Give an account of Jackson in the Shenandoah. EflEect of this 
movement. Story told of Jackson. 

238. Describe the battle of Fair Oaks. How was the Union advance 
on Richmond checked ? Who now took command of the Confederate 
army ? What plan did McClellan form ? 

239. Describe the seven-days battles. In what way was the retreat 
conducted ? With what battle did it close ? 

240. EfEect of this campaign ? Feeling at the North? Why did Lee 
now march North ? Who took command of the Union army before 
Washington ? Describe Lee's campaign against Pope. 

241. Its effect. What plan did Lee now adopt? Who assumed 
command of the army of the Potomac ? Describe McClellan's move- 
ments in pursuit. On what expedition was Jackson sent ? 

242. Describe the battle of Antietam. Its effect. 

243. The battle of Fredericksburg. Give a review of the second year 
of the war. 

244. What Indian conflict at the West ? What was the situation at 
the beginning of the year 1863 ? What movement did Grant make 
against Vicksbnrg ? 

245. Describe this campaign. Its result. The effect. 

246. The movements of Rosecrans in Tennessee and Georgia, General 
Morgan's raid. 

247-249. The battle of Chickamauga. By what event can you recol- 
lect it ? Describe the situation at Chattanooga. The battle of Look- 
out Mountain. Attack on Missionary Ridge. Its effect. 

250, The siege of Knoxville. The battle of Chancellorsville. 

251. Lee's second invasion of the North. 

253-254. The battle of Gettysburg— first day, second day, third day. 
Its effect. The attack on Charleston, What two contemporaneous 



QUESTIONS FOE CLASS USE. xvil 

events ? What was the " swamp angel " ? What do you say of the 
negro troops ? Of their charge on Fort Wagner ? 

255. Give a general review of the third year of the war. State the 
situation at the beginning of the year 1864. Grant's plan. 

256, 257. Describe Johnston's plan of defence. How did Sherman 
drive him from these positions ? Name the battles. Who succeeded 
Johnston in command ? What followed ? How did Sherman capture 
Atlanta? The effect? 

258. What prevented' Sherman's advance into Georgia? How was 
he relieved of this difficulty ? Where did Hood go ? What befell him 
in Tennessee? Describe the battle of Nashville. Its effect. 

259. Describe Sherman's march to the sea. Its effect. Kilpatrick's 
raid to Richmond. 

260. Describe the battle of the Wilderness. By what peculiarity was 
it distinguished? Its result? Describe the battle of Spottsylvania 
Court House. 

261. Its result. Describe the battle of Cold Harbor. What famous 
despatch did Grant send ? 

262. Describe the attack on Petersburg. The effect of this campaign. 
The three co-operative expeditions. The mine explosion. 

263. The attack on the Weldon Railroad. Why did Lee send Early 
into the Shenandoah Valley? Describe Early's raid. 

264. What Union general was now sent to this region ? Describe 
Sheridan's campaign. . His ride from Winchester. His devastation of 
the country. 

265. The effect of his campaign. Describe the Red River expedition. 
The rescue of Porter's fleet. The massacre at Port Pillow. 

266. The attack on Mobile by Farragut. First expedition against 
Fort Fisher. 

367. The second expedition. Capture of the fort. Effectiveness of 
the blockade. Blockade runners. 

268. Give an account of the Confederate cruisers. Of the battle 
between the Alabama and the Kearsarge. 

269. Of the Sanitary and Christian Commissions. Of political affairs. 

270. Who was elected President? Give a general review of the 
fourth year of the war. 

271. Describe the situation at the opening of the year 1865. Sher- 
man's march, through the Carolinas. 

272. Its result. What was the situation at Richmond ? Describe 
the attack on Fort Steadman. Why was it made ? 

273. Its effect ? Describe the battle of Five Forks. Its effect. The 
capture of Petersburg and Richmond. 

274. The pursuit of Lee. His surrender. 

275. 276. The terms. Its effect. Fate of Davis. The cost of the war. 
The assassination of Lincoln. 

277. What State was added during this epoch ? 



XViii QUESTIONS FOE CLASS USE. 



SIXTH EPOCH. 

281. Who became President on the death of Lincoln? Give an ac- 
count of the life of Johnson. What was the size of the two armies at 
the close of the war ? What did their peaceful discharge prove ? 

383. What do you mean by " reconstruction " '? What was the recon- 
struction policy of Johnson ? What is the Thirteenth Amendment ? 

383. What was the condition of the public finances ? What was the 
reconstruction policy of Congress? Result of this clashing between 
Congress and the President ? On what conditions were the seceded 
States finally readmitted to their former position in the Union ? 

384. Why was Johnson impeached ? Its result ? What is the Four- 
teenth Amendment ? What Indian war now arose ? How was it termi- 
nated ? Give an account of the French interference in Mexico. How 
did it end ? 

385. Give an account of the laying of the Atlantic cable. 

286. What territory was added to the United States ? Of what value? 
Give an account of the Fenian excitement in 1866. 

387. Of the treaty with China. What State was admitted soon after 
the close of the Civil War ? Who were the Presidential candidates ? 
Who was elected eighteenth President ? 

388. Give an account of the Pacific Railroad, and its value to the 
country. What new railroad is building ? What is the climate in the 
far north along the-Mississippi Valley and the Pacific coast? Extent 
of the public lands granted ? What is the Fifteenth Amendment ? 

389-293. What was the population of the United States in 1870? 
Was the country recovering from the effects of the war ? What great 
fires happened in '71 and '73 ? What diSiculty arose with England ? 
What was the High Commission ? Give some account of Santo 
Domingo, and its application to be annexed to the United States. 
What difficulty occurred with Cuba ? What candidates for the presi- 
dency were nominated in 1873? Who was chosen? Give some ac- 
count of Horace Greeley. 

393-395. Describe the contest with the Modoc Indians. What was 
the Credit Mobilier? What was the cause of the "Panic of '73"? 
Name the Centennial observances of '75. Describe the Centennial 
Exhibition at Philadelphia. Give an account of the " Custer Massacre." 
Who were nominated for the presidency in '77? 

396. What was the Joint Electoral Commission ? What questions 
agitated the country at that time ? 

397, 398. Name and describe the principal events of President 
Hayes's administration. 



HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. 



1. In what battle was Molly Stark the watchword? 
3. What battle occurred when both armies were marching to make a 
night attack upon each other ? 

3. What battles have resulted in the destruction or surrender of an 

entire army ? 

4. What general rushed into battle without orders and won it ? 

5. What trees are celebrated in our history ? 

6. In what battle did Washington bitterly rebuke the commanding 

general, and himself rally the troops to battle ? 

7. What three ex-Presidents died on the 4th of July ? 

8. What cities have undergone a siege ? 

9. Contrast the characters of Washington and Jefferson. 

10. By whom and on what occasion were the words used, ' ' Millions 

for defence, but not one cent for tribute " ? 

11. Give the coincidences in the lives of the three great statesmen — 

Webster, Clay, and Calhoun. 

1 2. After whom ought this continent to have been named ? 

13. What celebrated philosopher, when a boy, went without meat to 

buy books ? 

14. How did a half-witted boy once save a fort from capture ? 

15. Name the retreats famous in our history. 

16. When did a fog save our army ? A rain ? 

17. When did a stone house largely decide a battle ? A stone wall ? 

18. What general was captured through his carelessness, and exchanged 

for another taken in a similar way ? 

19. What battles have been decided by an attack in the rear ? 

20. Who said, " I would rather be right than be President " ? 

21. When has an unnecessary delay cost a general a victory ? 

23. Name the events in our history which seem to you providential. 

23. What general died at the moment of victory ? 

34. Name some defeats which had all the effect of victories. 

25. Of what general was this said to be always true ? 

26. When was the Mississippi River the western boundary of the 

United States ? The Rocky Mountains ? 
37. What territory has the United States acquired by purchase 1 By 

conquest ? By annexation ? 
28. What Vice-Presidents were afterward elected Presidents ? 
39. What navigator shortened the voyage across the Atlantic ? 



XX HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. 

30. What tea party is celebrated in our history 1 

31. Who was President from 1787 (the adoption of the Constitution) 

to 1789? 

32. How many attacks have been made on Quebec? 

33. Wlio said, " I am not worth purchasing, but such as I am the king 

of England is not rich enough to buy me " ? 

34. Which is the longer, the Atlantic Cable or the Pacific Railroad ? 

35. Why were the Eiver St. Lawrence, Florida, St. Augustine, etc., 

so named ? 
86. What naval commander captured his antagonist as his own vessel 
was sinking ? 

37. How many expeditions have been made into Canada ? 

38. What battle was preceded by prayer ? 

39. What do the French names in the Mississippi valley indicate? 

40. What do the names New York, New England, New Hampshire, 

Georgia, Carolina, etc., indicate? 

41. When has the question of the public lands threatened the Union? 

42. Who, in a frail canoe, on a stormy night, visited an Indian wigwam 

to save the lives of his enemies ? 

43. In what battle did the Continentals gain the victory by falling back 

and then suddenly facing about upon the enemy ? 

44. How many times has Fort Ticonderoga been captured? 

45. Why were Davis's Strait, BaflBin's Bay, Hudson River, Frobisher's 

Strait, etc. , so named ? 

46. What do the names San Salvador, Santa Cruz, Vera Cruz, La 

Trinidad, etc., indicate? 

47. In what battles had the opposing generals formed the same plan ? 

48. What Presidents died in office ? 

49. What father and son were Presidents ? 

50. What administrations have been most popular ? 

51. Who fired the first gun in the French and Indian war ? 

52. What battle was fought and gained without a commanding officer? 

53. How many rebellions have occurred in our history ? 

54. Who was called the "Great Pacificator" ? Why? 

55. What was the "Nullification Act"? 

56. How many of our Presidents have been military men? 

57. Why did not Webster and Clay become Presidents ? 

58. Who was " Rough and Ready " ? 

59. Who was the " Sage of Monticello "? 

60. What noted events occurred on April 19th ? 

61. In whose administration was the largest number of States admitted 

to the Union ? 

62. In which administrations were none? 

63. By whom and under what circumstances was the expression used, 

" Give me liberty or give me death " ? 



HISTOKICAL RECKEATIO]S"S. xxi 

64. What general arose from a sick-bed to lead his troops into a battle 

in which he was killed ? 

65. What five ex- Presidents died in the decade between 1860 and 1870 ? 

66. Where is the "Cradle of Liberty"? 

67. What historical memories cluster around Santo Domingo ? 

68. How long did each of our five great wars last — (1) the French and 

Indian war ; (2) the Revolutionary war ; (3) the war of 1812 j 
(4) the Mexican war ; and (5) the Civil war ? 

69. State the cause of each of these wars. 

70. Name the prominent generals who acquired celebrity in each. 

71. Name the principal battles of each. 
73. Name the results of each. 

73. What fort was carried by a midnight assault ? 

74. What general escaped by riding down a steep precipice? 

75. Who drafted the Declaration of Independence? 

76. Who secured its adoption in the Convention ? 

77. Name the Presidents in chronological order. 

78. How many of our Presidents were Virginians ? 

79. Who was the " bachelor President " ? 

80. State to what party each President belonged. 

81 . How many of our Presidents were poor boys ? 

82. What were the principles of the whigs ? The democrats? 

83. What party adopted the views of the old federalists on the 

United States Bank, etc. ? 

84. How many Presidents have served two terms ? 

85. What battle was fought after peace was declared? 

86. On what issue was Polk elected President ? 

87. Contrast Jolin Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. 

88. On what mountains have battles been fought? 

89. Who used the expression, " We have met the enemy, and they 

are ours " ? 

90. Whose dying words were, " Don't give up the ship " ? 

91. When was a general blown up by a magazine, in the moment of 

victory ? 

92. What Indian chiefs formed leagues against the whites? 

93. What celebrated statesman was killed in a duel ? 

94. What States were named from mountain ranges ? 

95. What important contemporaneous events can you name ? 

96. Was Washington ever wounded in battle ? 

97. What was meant by saying that " Clay was in the succession " ? 

98. In what battle did Washington show the most brilliant generalship? 

99. What oflBcer lost his life because he neglected to open a note? 

100. What army retreated at the moment of victory because the fog 

was so dense that it did not see how successful it was ? 

101. How many States were named from their principal rivers? 



XXii HISTORICAL RECREATIONS. 

102. Name some celebrated foreigners who have fought for ub. 

103. What rendered Valley Forge memorable? 

104. How did Harrison gain his popularity ? Taylor ? 

105. Give some account of the United States Bank. 

106. In what war was Lincoln a captain and Davis a lieutenant ? 

107. What colonel, when asked if he could take a battery, replied, 

" I'll try, sir " ? 

108. Of what President was it said that " if his soul were turned inside 

out, not a spot could be found upon it " ? 

109. What town and army were surrendered without firing a shot ? 

110. For how many years was the Revolutionary War carried on 

mainly at the North ? At the South ? 

111. Who was " Poor Richard " ? 

113. Who were the " Green Mountain Boys" ? 

113. What colony was founded as a home for the poor ? 

114. What persecuted people settled the different colonies ? 

115. What colonies are named after a king or a queen ? 

116. What religious toleration was granted in the different colonies? 

117. Which colonies early enjoyed the greatest liberty? 

118. Which colony took the Bible as its guide ? 

119. In what battle was the left wing, when separated from the main 

body by a river, attacked by an overwhelming force of the 
enemy ? The right wing ? 

120. In what battle did both generals mass their strength on the left 

wing, expecting to crush the enemy's right ? 

121. flow many invasions of the North did Lee make ? 

133. What victories induced him to attempt each of these invasions ? 

123. By what battle was each invasion checked? 

124. How many invasions of Kentucky did Bragg make? 

125. How was each stopped ? 

126. For how many years have the United States been involved in war ? 

127. What object did Penn, Lord Baltimore, and Oglethorpe each have 

in founding a colony in the new world ? 

138. What President was impeached ? 

139. What ex-Vice-President was tried for treason ? 

130. Name the four prominent battles fought by General Taylor. 

131. What noted expressions of General Taylor became favorite 

mottoes ? Of General Grant ? 
133. What President vetoed the measures of the party which elected 
him to office ? 

133. Of what statesman was it said that " he was in the public service 

fifty years, and never attempted to deceive his countrymen " ? 

134. Who is said to have used the words, " A little more grape, Captain 

Bragg"? 

135. From what States have Presidents been elected ? 



HISTORICAL RECREATIOKS. XXIU 

136. Give the number and names from each State. 

137. What battle did General Gates win ? What battle did he lose ? 

138. What battles did Washington win? What battles did he lose? 

139. What President elect came to Washington in disguise ? 

140. Give a brief history of the slavery question. 

141. When were slaves introduced into this country ? 

143. Name the generals who commanded the army of the Potomac. 

143. Name the principal battles fought by McClellan — Rosecrans — 

Bragg — Lee — Hooker — Sheridan — Grant — Sherman — Beauregard 
— Meade — Pope — Buell — Taylor — Scott — Thomas — Johnston. 

144. Describe the '* March to the Sea." 

145. What two battles were fought in the " Wilderness " ? 

146. What was the "Missouri Compromise"? The " Compromise of 

1850"? 

147. What is " squatter sovereignty" ? Who was its author ? 

148. Of whom was it said that " he touched the dead corpse of public 

credit, and it sprang upon its feet " ? 

149. What were the " alien and sedition laws" ? 

150. Who was the "old man eloquent"? 

151. When was the first railroad constructed? The first steamboat? 

The first magnetic telegraph ? 
152 When was the Erie Canal opened ? The Pacific Railroad ? 

153. What President iutroduced "rotation in office"? 

154. Why, in the Missouri Compromise, was 36° 30' taken as the boun- 

dary between the slave and the free States ? 

155. What is the "Monroe Doctrine"? 

156. Who was the inventor of the cotton-gin ? 

157. What is a "protective tariff"? 

158. What is meant by " Reconstruction " ? 

159. What Presidents were not elected to that office by the people? 

160. To what party did Henry Clay belong ? J. Q. Adams ? Thomas 

Jefferson ? John C. Calhoun ? Andrew Jackson ? Daniel Web- 
ster ? Stephen A. Douglas ? Alexander Hamilton ? George 
Washington ? 

161. What President had not voted for forty years ? 

163. What two distinguished generals of the same name served in the 

Confederate army ? Name the battles fought by each. 
163. What was the " Dred Scott decision " ? 
1G4. What was the " Kansas-Nebraska Bill " ? 

165. Give an account of the principal parties which have arisen since 

the Constitutional Convention of 1787? 

166. Who were the " Silver Greys " ? The " Hunkers " ? The "Barn- 

burners " ? The " Woolly-Heads " ? The ' ' Free-Soilers " ? The 
" Know-Nothings "? The " Anti-Renters "? The " Unionists "? 

167. Give an account of the different attempts to lay the Atlantic cable. 



XXiv HISTORICAL RECREATION'S. 

168. Give a history of the difficulty between President Johnson and 

Congress. 

169. What nations settled the different States ? 

170. How many amendments have been made to the Constitution ? 

171. What was the " Hartford Convention" ? 

172. What are " State rights " ? 

173. What was the Secretary of State formerly called ? 

1 74. Tell some stories illustrating the patriotism of the women of the 

Ke volution. 

175. Give an account of the Public Lands. 

176. What State was admitted to the Union first after the original 

thirteen ? 

177. Who are the " Mormons " ? 

178. For what is Ethan Allen noted ? 

179. What battles have been fought in Virginia? South Carolina? 

Louisiana? New York? Massachusetts? New Jersey? Mary- 
land ? Pennsylvania ? Georgia ? Michigan ? 

180. What was the " Fugitive Slave Law " ? 

181. Name some unsuccessful candidates for the Presidency. 

182. For what is John Brown noted ? 

183. Who were the " Fillibusters " ? 

184. Give an account of Farragut's most celebrated exploits. 

185. Why was " Stonewall" Jackson so called ? 

186. Give an account of Butler's military career. 

187. What was the most prominent event of Jefferson's administration ? 

Jackson's ? Monroe's ? 

188. What treaties are celebrated in our history ? 

189. What President was once a tailor's apprentice t 

190. What was the object of the " American party " 1 

191. What was the " Gadsden purchase " ? 

192. Name the various difficulties which have arisen with England. 

193. What was the " Wilmot Proviso " ? 

194. What President followed Washington— Taylor— Jefferson— Lin- 

coln — J. Q. Adams — Pierce ? 

195. Who was President in 1812—1832—1846—1850—1861 ? 

196. Describe the operations of the Confederate cruisers during the 

Civil War. Of the " blockade runners." 

197. What distinguished generals have been unsuccessful candidates 

for the Presidency ? Successful candidates ? 

198. Why did the French in Canada extend their explorations west- 

ward to the Mississippi rather than southward into New York? 

199. What was the " Trent affair " ? 

200. Name and describe some important naval engagements. 

201. In what battle did the defeated general leave his wooden leg? 

202. What was the " O grab me Act " ? 



Declaration of Independence. 



THE following preamble and specifications, known as the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, accompanied the resolution of Richard Henry Lee, which was adopted 
by Congress on the 2d day of July, 1776. This declaration was agreed to on the 4th, 
and the transaction is thus recorded in the Journal for that day : 

" Agreeably to the order of the day, the Congress resolved itself into a committee of 
the whole, to take into their further consideration the Declaration : and, after some 
time, the president resumed the chair, and Mr. Harrison reported that the committee 
have agreed to a Declaration, which they desired him to report. The Declaration being 
read, was agreed to as follows .•" 

A DECLAEATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OP THE UNITED STATES 
OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dis- 
solve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, 
among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of 
nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind 
requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident— that all men are created equal ; that they 
are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments 
are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the gov- 
erned ; that, whenever any form cf government becomes destructive of these ends, 
it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, 
laying its foundationswn such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as 
to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, in- 
deed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light 
and transient catises ; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are 
more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abol- 
ishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses 
and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce 
them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such 
government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the 
patient sufferance of these colonies, and snch is now the necessity which constrains 
them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king 
of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct 
object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, 
let facts be submitted to a candid world. 

1. He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the 
public good. 

3. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing im- 
portance, Tinless suspended in their operations till his assent should be obtained ; 
and, when so suspended, be has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

3. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of 
people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the Legis- 
lature— a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 



XXVI DECLAEATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

4. He has called together legislative bodies at places anusual, tmcomfortable, and 
distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing 
them into compliance with his measures. 

5. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly 
firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

6. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be 
elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to 
the people at large for their exercise ; the State remaining, in the meantime, ex- 
posed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convulsions within. 

7. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for that purpose 
obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to 
encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations 
of lands. 

8. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws 
for establishing judiciary powers. 

9. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, 
and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

10. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to 
harass our people and eat out their substance. 

11. He has kept among us in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent 
of our Legislatures. 

12. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil 
power. 

13. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our con- 
stitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his assent to their acts of pre- 
tended legislation : 

14. For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

15. For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which 
they should commit on the inhabitants of these States ; 

16. For cutting oflF our trade with all parts of the world ; 

17. For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; 

18. For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; 

19. For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences ; 

20. For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, es- 
tablishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to 
render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute 
rule into these colonies ; 

21. For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, 
fundamentally, the forms of our governments ; 

22. For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with 
power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

23. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and 
waging war against us. 

ai. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and de- 
stroyed the lives of our people. 

25. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete 
the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of 
cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally un- 
worthy the head of a civilized nation. 

26. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear 
arms against their coimtry, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, 
or to fall themselves by their hands. 

27. He has excited domestic insurrection among us, and has endeavored to bring 
on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule 
of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions 



DECLAEATION" OF INDEPENDENCE. XXvii 



In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most 
humble terms ; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. 
A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is 
«„ — to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. We have 
warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their lejjislature to extend an un- 
warrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of 
our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and 
magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to dis- 
avow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and cor- 
respondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. 
We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and 
hold them as we hold the rest of mankind — enemies in war; in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general 
Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude 
of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these 
colonies, solemnlj' publish and declare that these united colonies are, and of right 
ought to be, free and independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of 
Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved, and that, as free and independent 
States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract aUiances, establish 
commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent States may of right 
do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection 
of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and 
our sacred honor. 



The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congres 
following members : 



engrossed, and signed by the 
JOHN HANCOCK. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

JOSIAH BaRTLETT, 

William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 
Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridgb Gerrt. 

RHODE ISLAND. 
Stephen Hopktns, 
William Elleet. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott. 

NEW YORK. 
Whliam Flotd, 
Philip Livingston, 
Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. 



NEW -JERSEY. 
Richard Stockton, 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkjnson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
Robert Morris, 
Benjamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Cltmer, 
James Smith, 
George Taylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross. 

DELAWARE. 
C^SAR Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 

MARYLAND. 

Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 
Thomas Stone, 



Charles Carroll, of Car- 
roUton. 

VIRGLNIA. 

George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, Jun., 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Pbnn. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 
Edward Rutledge, 
Thomas Heyward, Jun., 
Thomas Lynch, Jun., 
Arthur Middleton. 

GEORGIA. 

Button Gwinnett, 
Lyman Hall, 
Gbobgb Walton. 



Constitution of the United States. 



WE, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common 
defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves 
and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States 
of America. 

ARTICLE I.— Legislative Department. 

SECTION I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of 
the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Eepresentatives. 

SECTION II.— Clause 1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the elec- 
tors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

Clause 2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be 
chosen. 

Clause 3. Eepresentatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective 
numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, 
including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, 
three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three 
years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every 
subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The num- 
ber of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State 
shall have at least one representative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, 
the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three ; Massachusetts, eight; 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one ; Connecticut, five ; New York, six ; 
New Jersey, four ; Pennsylvania, eight ; Delaware, one ; Maryland, six ; Virginia, 
ten ; North Carolina, five ; South Carolina, five ; and Georgia, three. 

Preamble. — Name the six objects of the Constitulion. Who " ordained and established " this 
Constitution? Is Ihe "union" one of .states or of people? What branches of gOTernment are 
established under ttie first three articies of the Constitution? 

Article I. — Section 1. What body has the "power of legislation"? (Note. — The "power of 
legislation " is that of making laws.) Of what does Congress con.sist? 

Section 2. Who compose the House of Representatives? Who choose the representatives? What 
are the necessary qualifications of an elector (or voter) for a representative? How long is the term 
of a representative? Name the three qualifications necessary for a representative. Is a foreign- 
born person eligible to the olBce of representative ? How are representatives and direct taxes to be 
apportioned among Ihe states? How was the representative population of the different states to be 
deternriined ? What limit is there to the number of representatives ? Is every state entitled to repre- 
sentation ? How many members were there in the first House of Representatives ? How often must 



CONSTITUTION" OF THE UNITED STATES. XXIX 

Clause 4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the execu- 
tive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

Clause 5. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other 
officers ; and shaU have the sole power of impeachment. 

SECTION in.— Clause 1. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years ; and 
each senator shall have one vote. 

Clause 2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of 
the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year ; of 
the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year ; and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; and 
if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature 
of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next 
meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

Clause 3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, 
when elected, be an mhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

Clause 4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be president of the Senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

Clause 5. The Senate shall choose their other ofiicers, and also a president pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of 
President of the United States. 

Clause 6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments : when 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or atflrmation. When the President of 
the United States is tried, the Chief-Justice shall preside ; and no person shall be con- 
victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Clause 7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or 
profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable 
and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

SECTION rV. — Clause 1. Tlie times, jilaces, and manner of holding elections for 
senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature 
thereof ; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the places of choosing senators. 

Clause 2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meet- 
ing shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a 
different day. 

the Census be taken? How are vacancies in the House to be filled? Who elect the officers of the 
House? What body has the sole power of impeachment? {Notes.— The first census was taken in 
1790 ; the " ratio of representation " being one representative for 3.^,000 persons. The census of IS70 
gave 130,533 persons as the "ratio of representation," The number of representatives is fixed by 
Congress each decade ; at present it is 292. In March of the odd year there is a new House of 
Representatives. Each organized territory has a delegate who can sit in the House, but not vote. 
The states are each divided, by its own laws, into congressional districts, as many as the number 
of representatives to which it is entitled : and the electors in each one of these vote for their repre- 
sentative. The phrase "all other persons" meant "slaves" : but this has been amended by the 
XlVth Amendment. The speaker is always a member of the House ; the clerk, sergeant-at-arms, 
chaplain, etc., are not members. To impeach an officer is to accuse him of official misconduct.) 

Sciion 3. Of how many members does the Senate of the United States consist? Who elect the 
senators? What is a senator's terra of office? Explain the classification originally made. What 
was the object? How are vacancies filled? Stale the three qualifications necessary for a senator. 
Who is the president of the Senate? When only can he vote? Who chooses the other officers of 
the Senate? When can the Senate choose a president pro tempore (for the time being)? What 
" sole power " does the Senate possess? Who presides when the President of the United States is 
Impeached? What number is needed to convict? What penalties can be inflicted in case of con- 
viction ? Is a person so convicted liable to a trial-at-law for the same offence ? 

Section 4. Who prescribes the "time, place and manner" of electing representatives and sena- 
tors? What power has Congress over the state regulations? How often, and when, must Congress 



XXX COKSTITUTIOH OP 

SECTION ▼.— Clause 1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, 
and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quo- 
rum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be 
authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under 
such penalties, as each house may provide. 

Clause 2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its mem- 
bers for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

Clause 3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time 
publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy, and 
the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire 
of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Clause 4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent 
of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in 
■which the two houses shall be sitting. 

SECTION VI.— Clause 1. The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of 
the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the 
peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respec- 
tive houses, and in going to and returning from the same ; and for any speech or 
debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

Clause 2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, 
•which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, 
during such time ; and no person holding any office under the United States shall be 
a member of either house during his continuance in office. 

SECTION VII.— Clause 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House 
of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on 
other bills. 

Clause 2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the 
Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United 
States ; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objec- 
tions, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections 
at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, 
two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the 
objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if ap- 
proved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the 
votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the per- 
sons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house re- 
spectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sunday 
excepted^ after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like 



meet? (A^o^e —Congress has prescribed that senators shall be chosen in the following manner ; 
The Legislature elected last before the end of the senatorial term, on the second Tuesday after its 
first session, shall choose the next senator. The two branches of the Legislature shall meet sep- 
arately and vote viva voce. They shall then assemble together, and if they agree on any person, he 
shall be considered duly elected : if they disagree, the joint meeting shall vote viva voce from day 
to day, at 12 M.. until a choice is made.) 

Sertioi)5. Who decides upon the "elections, returns and qualifications" of the representatives 
and of the senators? What number of the members is necessary for a quorum (needed to do busi- 
ness) ? What business can a minority transact? What power is given each House ol Congress ot 
making and enforcing rules ? What is the law with regard to keeping and publishing a journal ot 
the proceedings? When must the yeas and nays be entered on the journal f What restriction is 
there upon the time and place of adjournment? „ _r, . . , • •, 

Section (i. Who fixes and pays the salaries of members of Congress ? What special privileges are 
granted to members of Congress? To what offices are members of Congress ineligible? Can a 
Congressman hold another office at the same time? , .^ . . 

Section 7. What bills must originate in the House of Representatives? What authority is given 
the Senate with regard to such bills ? Describe the three ways in which a bill may become a law— 
(1) With the President's concurrence ; (2) over his veto (I forbid) ; and (3) by non-return within ten 



THE UNITED STATES. XXXI 

manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjonmmeiit prevent its 
return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Clause 3. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate 
dnd House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjoum- 
aicnt) shall be presented to the President of the United States ; and before the same 
shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by liim, shall be 
repassed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the 
rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

SECTION VIII.— Clause 1. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common 
defence and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 

Clause 2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

Clause 3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

Clause 4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

Clause 5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures ; 

Clause 6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur- 
rent coin of the United States ; 

Clause 7. To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

Clause 8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for 
limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings 
and discoveries ; 

Clause 9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

Clause 10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offences against the law of nations ; 

Clause 11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water ; 

Clause 13. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

Clause 13. To provide and maintain a navy ; 

Clause 14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces ; 

Clause 15. To provide fbr calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Dnion, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

days? What "orders, resolutions and Totes " must be submitted to the President? What is the 
object of this provision? (Notes— In ease a vacancy occurs in the senatorial representation of any 
state, the governor of the state can appoint a senator to fill the place, who can hold office only until 
the next session of the Legislature. The method of representation in the Senate gives in that body 
perfect equality to all the states, Rhode Island having the same power as Virginia. A .senator is 
chosen by the Legislature, a representative by the people ; a senator serves for six years, a repre- 
sentative for two. The Senate tries an officer for misconduct, but he must be impeached by the 
House of Representatives. The salary of a Congressman is now $5,000 per year, and mileage CJI) 
cents per mile for every mile of travel by the usual route in coming and going). The speaker of the 
House has double a member's salary, and the president of the Senate has a salary of JS,OI)0. One- 
third of the Senate retire from office every two years. By the term "a Congress" is meant the 
body of senators and representatives holding office during any one representative term of two years ; 
the Congress which began its terra March 4, 1879, is the 4fith. Each Congress " ends at noon of the 
4th of March next succeeding the beginning of its second regular ses.sion." The committees in the 
House are appointed by the Speaker; those in the Senate by itself. The classification of the Senate 
makes it a more efficient and conservative body than the House, since in the former there are always 
two thirds of the number old members, while the House is all new every two years. If the presi- 
dent of the Senate were a senator, it would give extra power to one state, which would be contrary 
to the plan of that body.) 

Section 8. Eighteen clauses now follow which enumerate the poicers granted to Coiigrean. What 
power has Congress with regard to taxes? Duties (taxes on imported or exported articles)? Im- 
ports (taxes on imported articles) ? Excises (taxes on articles produced in the country) ? Borrowing 
money? Regulating commerce? Naturalization? Bankruptcies? Coining money ? Counterfeit- 
ing? Post-offices and post-roads ? Authors and inventors? Inferior courts? Piracies? Declaiing 



XXXU COKSTITUTION OF 

Clause 16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, 
reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the authority 
of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; 

Clause 17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such dis- 
trict (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the 
acceptance of Congress, become (he seat of the government of the United States, and 
to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature 
of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, 
dockyards, and other needful buildings ;— And 

Clause 18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in 
the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

SECTION IX.— Clause 1. The migration or importation of such persons as any of 
the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the 
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty 
may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

Clause 2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless 
when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

Clause 3. No bill of attainder or cx-post-facto law shall be passed. 

Clause 4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

Clause 5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

Clause 6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, 
one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

Clause 7. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of ap- 
propriations made by law : and a regular statement and account of the receipts and 
expenditures of all public money shall be pitblished from time to time. 

Clause 8. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no per- 
son holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the 
Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, 
from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

war? Raising and supporting armies? A navy? Gnvernment of the land and naval forces? Call- 
ing forth tlie militia? Organizing the militia? Over what places has Congress exclusive legisla- 
tion? What power is finally given to Congress to enable it to enforce its authority? What four 
restrictions upon the Congressional powers are made in this section? (See clauses 1, 2, 16 and 17.) 
(JVote*.— Taxes may be either direct or indirect; the former are laid directly upon the person : the 
latter upon articles exported, imported or consumed. Naturalization is the process bv which a 
foreign-boni person becomes a citizen- The process of naturalization is as follows : (1.) The person 
declares, on oath before the proper authority, his intention of becoming a citizen of the United 
States. (2.) Two years, at least, having elapsed, the person takes the oath of allegiance, when he 
must prove by witness that he has resided in the United States five years and in the state where 
he seeks to be naturalized one year ; that he has borne a good moral character, and has been 
well-disposed toward the goveniment. The copyinght, or exclusive right of publishing a book, is 
given to an author for 28 years, with the privilege of extension 14 years longer. It is issued only to 
a citizen or resident of the United States. A patent is now granted to an inventor for 17 years, 
without the privilege of extension. Any crime punishable with death is a felony. " Letters of 
marque and reprisal " are commissions given to per.sons authorizing them to seize the property of 
another nation By the term "his;h seas " is meant the open sea, the highway of nations.) 

Section 9. Eight clauses now follow, enumerating the poxoers denied to Congress. What prohibi- 
tion was made concerning the slave trade ? Writ of habeas corpus? Bill of attainder? Ex-post- 
factolaw? Direct tax? Exports from any state? Trade between the United States ? Payments 
from the Treasury? Titles of nobility? United States office-holder receiving presents from a foreign 
power ? /Notes. — The object of the first clause was to destroy the foreign slave trade or the impor- 
tation of negroes from Africa for the purpose of enslaving them. In 1S08, a law was passed pro- 
hibiting the trade, and in 1820 it was declared to be piracy. A writ of habeas corpus is a written 
order from a magistrate directing that a certain person shall be brought before him ; its object is to 
guard against false imprisonment or trial in a prejudiced court. A bill of attainder is an English 
term, meaning an act which without trial inflicts death for treason : attainder of treason cannot in 
the United States work " corruption of blood " so as to prevent a person from transmitting lands to 
his descendants. An ex-post-facto law makes an act criminal or penal whiuh was not so at the time 



THE UKITED STATES. XXXiii 

SECTION X.— Clause 1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confeder- 
ation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make 
anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of at- 
tainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any 
title of nobility. 

Clause 2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any impost or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing 
its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties and impost, laid by any State 
on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States ; and 
all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

Clause 3. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, 
keep troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact 
with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, 
or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. — Executive Department. 

SECTION I.— Clause 1. Tlie executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, 
and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as 
follows : 

Clause 2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may 
direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representa- 
tives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ; but no senator or repre- 
sentative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall 
be appointed an elector. 

Clause 3. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same throughout 
the United States. 

Clause 4. No person except a natural-bom citizen, or a citizen of the United States 
at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of Pres- 
ident ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years resident within the United 
States. 

Clause 5. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resig- 
nation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same 
shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the 
case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-Pres- 
ident, declaring what officer shall then act as President ; and such officer shall act 
accordingly until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

it was committed. A United States office-holder, wishing to accept a present or distinctiou offered 
him by any foreign power, must ask permission of Congress before he can receive it.) 

Section 10. Three clauses now follow enumerating the powers denied to the several States. What 

frohibition was made with regard to treaties ? Letters of marque and reprisal ? Coinage of money ? 
ssuing bills of credit (bills to circulate as money)? Making any other legal tender thai. ,jfold or 
silver? A bill of attainder? An ex-post-facto law? The impairing of contracts ? Titles of nobil- 
ity? Imposts? Keeping troops? Making peace or war? 

Article II. — Section 1. In whom is the executive power vested? (Note. — The executive power 
5s that of executing the laws.) How long is the President's term of office? The Vice-President's? 
Who are the presidential electors? How many are there from each stale? Who are ineligible to the 
office? Describe the method of electing a President, as originnlly directed by the Constitution. iNote. 
— This has been superseded by the Xlllh Amendment.) What power has Congress over the elec- 
tors ? What are the necessary qualifications for the olBce of President ? In case of a vacancj', who 
would become President? {Note. — In case of a vacancy in the office of both President and Vice- 
President, the president yo tempore of (he Senate, and in case of a vacancy in that office, then the 
speaker of the House would act as President. The electors are now chosen on " the Tuesday next 
after the first Monday in the last November " of each presidential term of office. The electors meet 
to cast their ballots, generally at the capital of each state, on " the first Wednesday in the last 
December" of each presidential term of office. When the plan of choosing electors was originally 
adopted it was intended to choose good men who should themselves select the President; but it soon 



XXXIV CONSTITUTION OF 

Clause 6. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensa- 
tion which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he 
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emolu- 
ment from the United States, or any of them. 

Clause 7. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following 
oath or affirmation: — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute 
the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre- 
serve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

SECTION n.— Clause 1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called 
into the actual service of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, 
of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating 
to the duties of their respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant reprieves 
and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

Clause 2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall 
nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint ambas- 
sadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided 
for, and which shall be established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the 
appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in 
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

Clause 3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the 
end of their next session. 

SECTION III.— He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the 
elate of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall 
judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both 
houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them with respect to 
the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; 
he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the 
laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission aU the officers of the United States. 

SECTION IV.— The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United 
States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of treason, 
bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 



ARTICLE III.— Judicial Department. 

SECTION I.— The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time 

came about that the electors were pledged to their respective candidates before their own election. 
The President's salary is $50,IKK1 per year, together with the use of the White House.) Can the 
salary of a President be changed during his term of office ? Can he receive any other emolument 
from the national or any state government? Repeat the President's oath of office. 

Section 2. Three clauses now follow enumerating the poioers granted to the President. What 
authority has the President over the United States army and navy ? State militia? The chief officers 
of the different executive departments? (See note, p. 151.) Reprieves and pardons? The making 
of treaties? Appointment of ambassadors? Judges of the Supreme Court, etc.? Filling vacan- 
cies? 

Section 3. Defines Wieduties of the President. Name these duties with regard (1)) to Congress, (2) 
to ambassadors, and (.S) to United States officers? (Note. — Washington and Adams in person 
read their messages to Congress ; the present plan of sending the message by a private secretary 
Tfas commenced by Jefferson.) 

Section i. For what crimes and in what way may any United States officer be removed from 
office? 



THE UNITED STATES. XXXV 

ordain and estaWish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold 
their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services 
a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

SECTION n.— Clause 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties 
made, or which shall be made, under their authority ;— to all cases affecting ambassa- 
dors, other public ministers, and consuls ; — to all cases of admiralty and maritime 
jurisdiction ;— to controversies to which the United States shall be a party ;— to con- 
troversies between two or more States ;— between a State and citizens of another 
State ;— between citizens of different States ;— between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens 
thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects. 

Clause 2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original juris- 
diction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have 
appellate jurisdiction, both as to taw and fact, with such exceptions and under such 
regulations as the Congress shall make. 

Clause 3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury ; 
and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been com- 
mitted ; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or 
places as the Congress may by law have directed. 

SECTION ni.— Clause I. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. 

Clause 2. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

Clause 3. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except dur- 
ing the Ufe of the person attainted. 



ARTICLE IV.— General Provisions. 

SECTION I. —Pull faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by 
general laws prescribe the manner in which stch acts, records, and proceedings shall 
be proved, and the effect thereof. 

SECTION n.— Clause 1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privi- 
leges and immunities of citizens in the several States^ 
Clause 2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who 

Article III. — Section 1. In what is the judicial power of the United States vested t (Note. — 
The judicial power is that of interpreting and applying the laws.) How long do the judges hold 
office ? Can their salary be changed during their term of office ? 

Section 2 defines i\\e jurisdiction of the United States Courts. Name the cases to which the judi- 
cial power of the United States extends. In what cases does the Supreme Court have original juris- 
diction? Appellate jurisdiction? What is the law with regard to trial by jury ? Where must such 
8 trial be held? Where may a crime be committed "not within a state"? (Notes. — The Supreme 
Court consists of a chief justice and eight associate justices. The salary of the chief justice is 
$10,.500 and that of an associate $10,000 per annum. This court meets at Washington annually on 
the first Wednesday in December. A citizen of the District of Columbia, within the meaning of the 
Constitution as above, is not a citizen of a state. By original jurisdiction is meant the court in which 
the case begins ; by appellate, is indicated a trial after an appeal from a lower court.) 

Section 3. In what does treason consist? What proof is required? Who fixes the punishment f 
What limit Is assigned ? 

Article IV. — Section 1. What is the law with regard to state records, judicial proceedings, etc. ? 

Section 2. What privileges has the citizen of one state in all the others? Can a criminal or an 



XXXVl CONSTITUTION" OF 

shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the execa- 
tive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the 
State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

Clause 3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be dis- 
charged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to 
whom such service or labor may be due. 

SECTION III.— Clause 1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts 
of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as 
of the Congress. 

Clause 2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United 
States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any 
claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

SECTION IV.— The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a 
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and 
on application of the Legislature, or of the executive (when the Legislature cannot 
be convened) against domestic violence. 



ARTICLE v.— Power of Amendment. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall 
propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the Legislatures 
of two-thirds of tlie several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, 
which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Con- 
stitution, when ratilied by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or 
by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification 
may be proposed by the Congress ; provided that no amendment which may be made 
prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the 
first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, 
without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal sufl'rage in the Senate. 



ARTICLE VI.— Miscellaneous Provisions. 

Clause 1. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitu- 
tion, as under the confederation. 

Clause 2. This Constitution, and thelaws of the United States which shall be made 
in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the 
authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the laud ; and the judges 

apprentice escape by fleeing into another state ? (Note. — Clause 3 originally included fugitive slaves, 
but that application was annulled bv the Xlllth Amendment.) 

Section 3. State the law with regard to the formation and admission of new states. What power 
has Congress over the territory and property of the United States? 

Section 4. What must Congress guarantee to every state? When must Congress protect the 
states? 

Article V. State the two ways in which amendments to the Constitution may be proposed. 
The two ways in which thev may he ratified. What restriction in this article has now lost all force? 
What provision for the benefit of the smaller states is attached to this article? 

Article VI. What debts did the Uuited States assume when the Constitution was adopted! 



THE UNITED STATES. 



XXXVll 



in every State shall he bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any 
State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Clause 3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of 
the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial ofllcers, both of the 
United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or atfirmation to sup- 
port this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification 
to any office or public trust under the United States. 



ARTICLE VII.— Ratification of the Constitution. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estab- 
lishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 



GEOKGE WASHINGTON, 
Presidenty and Deputy from Virginia. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
John Langdon, 
Nicholas Gilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
Nathaniel Gorhajb, 
EuFus King. 

CONNECTICUT. 
William Samuel Johnson, 
EoGER Sherman. 



DELAWARE. 
George Reed, 
Gunning Bedford, Jr., 
John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassktt, 
Jacob Broom. 

MARYLAND. 
James McHenrt, 
Daniel op St. Thomas Jenipbb, 
Daniel Carroll. 



NEW YORK. 
Alexander Hamtlton. 

NEW JERSEY. 
William Livengston, 
David Bbearley, 
William Paterson, 
Jonathan Datton. 



VIRGINIA. 
John Blair, 
James Madison, Jr. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
William Blount, 
Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
Hugh Williamson. 



What is the supreme law of the land? Who are required to take an oath or a£Bniiation to stipport 
the Constitution of the United States? Can a religious test be exacted f 

Article VII. What was necessary for the adoption of this Constitntion ? (Note, p. 143.) In 
what year was it adopted ? 

Amendments. (Notes. — The first ten amendments were proposed in 1789 at the first session of the 
First Congress, and in 1791 were declared adopted. They are of the nature of a Bill of Rights, and 
were passed in order to satisfy those who complained that the Constitution did not sufficiently guard 
the rights of the people.) 



XXXTlll 



CONSTITUTION OF 



PENNSYLVANIA. 
Benjamin Frakkltn, 
Thomas Mifflik, 
Robert Moekis, 
George Cltmer, 
Thomas Fitzsimons, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, 
gouternbub morris. 



Attest: 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 
John Rutledge. 
Charles C. Pincknbt, 
Charles Pincknet, 
PiBRCB Butler. 

GEORGIA. 
William Few, 
Abraham Baldwin. 

WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 



AMENDMENTS 



To the Constitution of the United States, Ratified according 
to the Provisions of the Fifth Article of the Foregoing 
Constitution. 



ARTICLE I.— Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of 
the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the gov- 
ernment for redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE n.— A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

ARTICLE in.— No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV.— The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, 
and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or afllrma- 
tion, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things 
to be seized. 

ARTICLE v.— No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infa- 
mous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases 
arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in tim« 
of war and public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be 
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to 
be a witness against himself, nor to be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without 

Article I. What guarantees are provided concerning religious freedom f Freedom of speech 
and the press T Peaceable assiembly and petition ? 

AltTlCLE II. What guarantee is given with regard to the right of bearing arms? 

Article III. What is provided with regard to quartering soldiers upon citizens? 

Article IV. What is provided with regard to unreasonable searches and warrants? 

Article V. What provisions are made with regard to a trial for capital offences? Can a person 
be tried twice for the same crime? Can a criminal be forced to witness against himself? Wbeo 
can private property be taken for the public use f 



THE UNITED STATES. XXXiX 

dne process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just 
compensation. 

ARTICLE VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 
a speeay and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein 
the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously 
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; 
to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process 
for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his 
defence. 

ARTICLE VII.— In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall 
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried 
by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than 
according to the rules of common law. 

ARTICLE Vm.— Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 

nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

ARTICLE IX.— The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X.— The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the 
people. 

ARTICLE XL— The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the 
United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign 
state. 

ARTICLE Xn.— The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by 
ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their ballots the 
person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- 
President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, 
and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, 
which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- 
ment of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate ;— the president of 
the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open 
all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ;— the person having the 
greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have such 

Article TT. What important rights are secured to the accused in case of a criminal prosecu- 
tion? 

Article VII. When is the right of jury trial guaranteed? How must a fact tried by a jury be 
re-examined? 

Article VIII. What guarantee is given with regard to excessive bail or fine and unusual pun- 
ishment? 

Article IX. Does the enumeration of certain rights In the Constitution have any effect upon 
those not enumerated? 

Article X. What declaration is made concerning the powers neither delegated to Congress nor 
forbidden the states? 

Article XI. (Note. — This amendment was proposed at the first session of the Third Congress, 
1794, and declared adopted in )7P8.) What restriction is placed on the judicial power of the United 
States? Can the citizens of one state bring a suit against another state? 

Article XII. (Note. — This amendment was proposed at the first session of the Eighth Congress, 
lRn3, and declared adopted in 1804. It grew up out of the contest In the House of Represenlativea 
at the time of Jefferson's election ; he was not chosen until the 36th ballot.) Describe in full the 



Xl CONSTITCTTION OF 

majority, then from the persons having the highest numhers not exceeding three on 
the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose 
immediately, hy hallot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes 
shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of 
the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the 
House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice 
shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the 
Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitu- 
tional disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes 
as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the 
two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-F*resident ; a 
quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, 
and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person 
constitutionally ineligible to the otfice of President shall be eligible to that of Vice- 
President of the United States. 

ARTICLE Xin.— Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as 
a punishment for crime, whereof the person shall have been duly convicted, shall 
exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
lation. 

ARTICLE XIV.— Section 1. All persons bom or naturalized in the United 
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
■which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; 
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of 
the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States according 
to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State 
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the 
choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, representa- 
tives in Congress, the executive or judicial officers of a State, or the members of the 
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being 
twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, 
except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation 
therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens 
shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such 
State. 

Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of 
President or Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United 

mode of choosing the President by the electors. The Vice-President. State the essential qualifica- 
tions of Vice-President. (See Art. II, Sec. I, Clause 4.1 In case there is no choice by the electors, 
how is the President elected? Describe the mode of election in the House. If a President should 
not be chosen by March J, who would act as President ? 

Article XIII. (Note. — This amendment was proposed at the second session of the Thirty-eighth 
Congress, 186.5, and declared adopted in 186.5. It grew out of the Civil War. See p. 282.) Repeat 
the amendment abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States. 

Article XIV. (iVb(e.— This amendment was adopted in 1868. See p. 284.) Section 1. Who are 
citizens of the United States? What restrictions are laid upon the states with regard to abridging 
the rights of citizens? 

Section 2. Hnw are representatives apportioned among the several states? How does this amend 
Art. I, Sec 2, Clause 3? 

Section X What persons are prohibited from holding any ""ice under the United Stat«« ? How 
laay this disability be removed' 



THE UNITED STATES. 



xli 



states, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of 
Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legisla- 
ture, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of 
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, 
or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two- 
thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payment of pension and bounties for services in sup- 
pressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United 
States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of 
insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held 
illegal and void. 

Section 5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV.— Section 1. The right,^ of citizens of the United States to vote 
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
lation. 

Section 4. Repeat the provision with regard to the validity of the public deljt. With regard to 
any debt incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion. 

Akticle XV. (Note.— This amendment waa adopted in 1870. See p. 288.) Repeat the amend- 
ment granting universal suffrage. 




Washington's headquarters at newburgh. 



xlii 



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INDEX. 



This Index refers lo the notes at the bottom of the page as well as the 
text of the book. 



sicndia, 85. 
Adams, John, 154. 
Adams, J. Q., 174. 
Alabama, admission of, 203. 

" secession of, 198. 
Alabama and Kearsarge, 868. 
Alaska, purchase of, 28(j. 
Alexandria, seizure of, 217. 
Algiers, 153, 171. 
Alien and sedition laws, 154. 
Allen, Ethan, 110. 
Amendment, Fifteenth, 288. 
" Fourteenth, 284. 

" Thirteenth, 383. 

Andre, execution of, 1.36. 
Andros, Governor, 59, 63, 67. 
Antietam, battle of, 342. 
Antiquities, 9. 
Anti-rent dirticulties, 182. 
Arkansas, admission of, 204. 

" secession of, 217. 

Arlington Heights, seizure of, 217. 
Arnold, Benedict, 110, 111, 112, 122, 134, 

135-137, 139, 140. 
Atlanta, advance on, 256, 257. 
Atlantic cable, 285. 
Averysboro, battle of, 272. 
Ayllon, De, 27. 

Tificoti's Rebellion, 52. 

Balboa, 27. 

Ball's Bluflf, battle of, 220. 

Baltimore, Lord, 73. 

Baltimore, Massachusetts troops at, 217. 

Bank of United States, 152, 176, 181. 

Beaufort, capture of, 232. 

Belmont, battle of, 221. 

Bennington, battle of, 123. 

Benionville, battle of, 272. 

Bermuda Hundred, General Butler at, 263. 

Big Bethel, battle of, 218. 

Big Black River, battle of, 245. 

Black Hawk war, 177. 

Blennerhassett, 156. 

Blockade, effects of, 267. 

Boonoville. battle of, 221. 



Boston evacuation of, 112. 

" fire, 289. 

" massacre, 104. 

" Port Bill, 105. 
Boundary, N. E., 180. 

N. w., ia3. 

Braddock, General, 84. 
Brandywine, battle of, 119. 
Buchanan, James, 196. 
Buell, General, 228. 
Buena Vista, battle of, 186. 
Bull Run, battles of, 319, 341. 
Bunker HOI, battle of, 108. 
Burgoyne, surrender of, 135 
Burnside's expedition, 232. 
Burr, Aaron, 156. 
Bragg' 8 expedition, 228. 
Brown, John, 197. 

Cabot, John, 25. 

Cabot, Sebastian, 25. 

Cabrillo, 29. 

Calhoun, John C, 173, 176. 

California, admission of, 206-208. 

" gold discovered in, 190. 

Camden, battle of, 133. 
Carnifex Ferry, battle of, 218. 
Carolinas, the, 74. 
Carolina, secession of South, 198. 
" secession of North, 217. 
Caroline, burning of the, 178 
Carrick's Ford, battle of, 218. 
Carthage, battle of, 221. 
Cartier, 30. 

Cedar Mountain, battle of, 240. 
Centennial Anniversary, 293. 

" Exhibition, 294. 
Cerro Gordo, battle of, 188. 
Chambersburg, burning of, 264. 
Champion Hills, battle of, 245. 
Champlain, 32. 

Chancellorsville, battle of, 250. 
Ch.antilly, battle of, 241. 
Chapultepec, capture of, 189. 
Charleston, attack on, 129, 254. 

" surrender of, 133. 



xlvi 



INDEX. 



Charleston, capture of, 272. 

Chattanooga, battle of, 247. 

Cheat Mountain, battle of, 218. 

Chesapeake and Leopard, 158. 

Chesapeake and Shannon, 166. 

Chicago fire, 289. 

Chickamauga, battle of, 247. 

China, treaty with, 286. 

Chippewa, battle of, 168. 

Chrysler's Field, battle of, 163. 

Clay, Henry, 173, 176, 184, 192. 

Clayborne's rebellion, 73. 

Clinton, General, 115, 135. 

Cold Harbor, battle of, 261. 

Coligny, 31. 

Colorado, admission of, 299. 

Columbia, S. C, capture of, 272. 

Columbia River, discovery of, 208. 

Columbus, 20. 

Commissions, Christian and Sanitary, 269. 

Compromise, Missouri, 172. 

of 1850, 193. 
Confederacy at Montgomery, Southern, 

199. 
Confederate Capital at Richmond, 217. 
Congress, First Continental, 106. 
Connecticut, 61. 

Constitution, adoption of Federal, 143. 
Constitution and Guerriere, 161. 
Continental money, 134. 
Contreras, battle of, 189. 
Convention, Hartford, 169. 
Conway cabal, 126. 
Corinth, battle of, 228. 
CornwaUis, 116, 119, 1.33, 138, 140. 
Court-House, battle of Guilford, 138. 

" battle of Hanover, 236. 

Cowpens, battle of the, 137. 
Credit Mobilier, 293. 
Crisis of '37, 178. 
Cross Keys, battle of, 237. 
Crown Point, attack on, 86. 

" taken. 111. 

Cuba, invasion of, 193. 
Cumberland, 233. 
Custer, General, 295. 

7)ade's M'asxacre, 177. 

Danbury, burning of, 120. 

Darling, Fort, 236. 

Davis, Jetf., 275. 

De Ayllon, 37. 

De Leon, Ponce, 26. 

De Monts, 32. 

De Narvaez, 27. 

De Soto, 27. 

Decatur, Lieutenant, 157. 

Deerfleld, burning of, 79. 

Delaware, 69. 

Detroit, surrender of, 160. 

Donaldson's Point, 227. 

Donelson, Fort, 224. 

Dorr's rebellion, 181. 

Doufflas, Stephen A., 197. 

Draft riot in New York city, 252. 

Drake, Sir Francis, 35. 

Dranesville, skirmish at, 221. 

Dred Scott decision, 196. 

Du Quesne, Fort, 84, 85. 



Dustin, capture of Mrs., 77. 

Eariy's finid, Genet-nl, 863. 

Edward, Fort, massacre, 86. 
Ellsworth, Colonel, 217. 
Embargo on American ships, 153. 
Emancipation Proclamation, 242. 
England, 142, 152, 157, 159, 169, 180. 
Espejo, 29. 

Eutaw Springs, battle of, 139. 
Explorations, Dutch, 39. 
English, 34. 

" French, 30. 

" on the Pacific, 20. 

" Spanish, 26. 

Fair Oaks, battle of, 238. 
Farragut, 231,232, 266. 
Federalists, the, 143. 
Fenians, the, 286. 
Fillmore, Millard, 191. 
Fisher, capture of Fort, 267, 
Fishery award, 298. 
Five Forks, battle of, 273. 
Florida, admission of, 205. 

" discovery of, 27. 

" purchase of, 173. 

" secession of, 198. 
Fortress Monroe, 218. 
France, 126, 153, 155, 157, 178. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 127. 
Fraser, General, 124. 
Frazier's Farm, encounter at, 239. 
Fredericksburg, battle of, 242. 
Fremont, J. C, 188, 196. 
Frenchtown, Indian atrocities at, 164 
Frobisher, 34. 
Frolic and Wasp, 162. 
Fugitive Slave Law, 193, 197. 
Fulton, Robert, 157. 

Gadsdeti "Purchase , 195. 

Gage, the Boston boys and General, 113. 

Gaines's Mill, battle of, 239. 

Galveston, capture of, 251. 

Gates, General, 122, 133. 

Genet, difficulties with, 153. 

Georgia, 76. 

'' secession of, 198. 
Germantown, battle of, 120. 
Gettysburg, battle of, 252. 
Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 36. 
Gillmore, General, 254. 
Goffe, the regicide, 58. 
Gosnold, 38. 
Grand model, the, 75. 
Grant, Ulysses S., 221, 224, 225, 217, 855, 

260, 287. 
Greeley, Horace, 292. 
Greene, General, 117, 137, 138. 
Guilford Court-House, battle of, 138. 

JTale, Caplain J^i'^atfian, 115. 
Hamilton's plans, 151, 152. 
Hamilton, death of, 156. 
Hampton, 218. 

Hanging Rock, battle of, 1.34. 
Hanover Court-House, battle of, 836. 
Harper's Ferry, 217, 841. 



IITDEX. 



xlrii 



Harrison, William Henry, 165, 180. 
Harrison's Landing, 240. 
Hatteras Inlet, 222. 
Hayes, R. B., 295, 297. 
HasTie, Colonel Isaac, 134. 
Uayne, Robert Y., 176. 
Henry, Fort, 224. 
Henry, Patrick. 102, 106. 
Hessians, the, 115, 117. 
Hornet and Peacock, 166. 
Horseshoe Bend, battle of, 166. 
Howe, General, 114, 115. 
Huguenots, the, 75. 
Hull, Captain Isaac, 161. 
Hull, General William, 160. 
Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 57. 

lilinois, admission of, 203. 
Independence, Declaration of, 114. 
Indiana, admission of, 202. 
Indians, 11. 
Inter-colonial wars, 77. 
Iowa, admission of, 206. 
Island No. 10, 227. 
luka, battle of, 228. 

Jackson, Andrew, 166, 170, 174, 175. 

Jackson, " Stonewall," 219, 937, 251. 

Jamestown, 38, 46, 52. 

Japan, treaty with, 195. 

Jasper, Sergeant, 113, 129. 

Jay, Chief-Justice, 153. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 155. 

Jesuits, the missionary, 33. 

Johnson, Andrew, 281. 

Johnston, General Albert Sidney, 225, 226. 

Johnston, General Joseph E., 220, 236, 

237, 238, 256. 
Joint Electoral Commission, 296. 
Jones, victory of Paul, 132. 

Kansas, admission of, 209. 
Kansas diflBculties, 195. 
Kansas-Nebraska bill, 194. 
Kearney, General, 241. 
Kentucky, admission of, 200. 
Kidd, William, 68. 
Kilpatrick, General, 259. 
King's Mountain, battle of, 134. 
E[now-Nothing party, 196. 
Knoxville, siege of, 250. 
Kosciusko, 122. 

Lafayeiie, General, 119, 139, 173. 
Lake George, battle of, 86. 
Lake Champlain, battle of, 168. 
La Salle, 34. 
Laudonniere, 31. 
Lee, General Charles, 115, 128. 
Lee, General Robert E., 218, 2.38, 360. 
Lee's army, capture of, 274. 
Leisler, execution of, 67. 
Lexington, Mass., battle of, 106. 
Lexington, Mo., battle of, 221. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 197, 215. 

" assassination of, 275. 
Long Island, battle of, 114. 
Lookout Mountain, battle of, 248. 
Louisburg, 80, 85. 



Louisiana, admission of, 201. 

" purchase of, 156. 
Louisiana, secession of, 198. 
Lundy's Lane, battle of, 167. 

jifack-inatf, surrender of, 160. 
Madison, James, 159. 
Magruder, General, 235. 
Maine, 60, 204. 
Malvern Hill, battle of, 289. 
Manassas, battle of, 235. 
Marion, General, 1.34, 138. 
Marquette, Father, 33. 
Maryland, 72. 

" invasion of, 341. 
Massachusetts, 53. 
McAlister, capture of Fort, 259. 
McClellan, General George B., 218, 23r 

269. 
McCrea, murder of Miss, 121. 
McHenry, bombardment of Fort, 169. 
Maximilian, 284. 
Mechanicsville, battle of, 239. 
Meigs, siege of Fort, 164. 
Melendez, 29. 

Memphis, surrender of, 227. 
Merrimac and Monitor, 233. 
Mexico, boundary of, 195. 

" surrender of, 189. 

" treaty with, 190. 

" war with, 185. 
Michigan, admission of, 204. 
Mill Springs.battle of. 224. 
Mimms, massacre of Fort, 166. 
Minnesota, admission of, 208. 
Mississippi River, discovery of, 2£' 
Mississippi, admission of, 202. 

" secession of, 198 

Missouri Compromise, 172. 

" admission of, 204. 
Modoc Indians, 293. 
Monmouth, battle of, 127. 
Monocacy, battle of, 263. 
Monroe, James, 172. 
Monroe doctrine, 173. 
Monroe, Fortress of, 218. 
Montcalm, General, 87, 89. 
Monterey, capture of, 186. 
Montreal, surrender of, 89. 
Mormons, the, 182. 
Morris, Robert, 135, 139. 
Motte, Mrs., 138. 
Moultrie, Fort, 113, 20O. 
Mound-builders, 10. 
Murfreesboro, battle of, 229. 
Mutiny Act, 103. 

JVaskviUe, battle of, 258. 
Navigation Act, 51, 59. 
Nebraska, admission of, 299. 
Nelson, Governor, 140. 
Nevada, admission of, 277. 
Newberne, capture of, 232. 
New Hampshire, 60. 
New York, 65. 

" City, fire at, 179. 
New Jersey, 68. 
New Orleans, battle of, 169. 

" capture of, 230i 



xlviii 



INDEX. 



Niagara, capture of Fort, 87. 
Norfolk Navy Yard, 217, 236. 
Northmen, 15 
Nullification, 175. 

Offletkorpe, 76, 80. 
Ohio, admission of, 201. 
Okechobee, battle of, 178. 
Omnibus Bill, 193. 
Ord, General E. O. C, 221. 
Oregon, admission of, 208. 
Osceola, 177. 

jt'acific, discovery of the, 85. 

" railroads, 287. 

Palo Alto, battle of. 185 
Patriot War. the, 179. 
Pea Ridge, battle of, 230. 
Penn, William, 69-72. 
Pennsylvania, 69. 
Pequod War, 62. 
Perry's victory, 164. 
Perryville, battle of, 228. 
Petersburg, attack on, 282. 
" capture of, 273. 

Philadelphia, 70. 

Philadelphia destroyed. Frigate, 157. 
Philippi, battle of, 218. 
Pickens, Fort, 223. 
Pierce, Franklin, 194. 
Pike, General, 163. 
Pilgrims, landing of the, 53. 
Pillory, the, 92. 
Pillow, capture of Fort, 265. 
Pinckney, Charles C, 155 
Pitcher, Major Molly, 128. 
Pittsburg Landing, battle at, 225. 
Plattsburg and Lake Champlain, battle of, 

163. 
Pleasant Hill, battle of, 265. 
Pocahontas, 48, 49. 
Polk, James K., 185. 
Pope, campaign against, 240. 
Port Gibson, battle of, 245. 
Port Hudson, surrender of, 246. 
Port Republic. 237. 
Port Royal, 222, 223. 
Powhatan, 48. 

Prescott, capture of General, 131. 
President and Little Belt, 160. 
Price, General, 238. 
Princeton, battle of, 118. 
Privateers, Confederate, 222. 
Public lands, 194. 
PiUaski, Count, 129. 

'• reduction of Fort, 233> 
Puritans, the, 53. 
Putnam, Israel, 108, 130. 

Quakers, the, 57, 69. 
Quebec, attack on, 87. 

" surrender of, 89. 

'' battle of, 112. 
Qrjeenstown, battle of, 161. 

Hailroad Strike, 297. 
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 36. 
Rail, death of, 117. 
Esndolph, John, 163. 



Eeconstruction, 982. 

Red River expedition, 265. 

Republican party, 153. 

Resaca, Ga., battle of, 257. 

Resaca de la Palma, battle of, 185. 

Resumption of specie payments, 298. 

Rhode Island, 64. 

Ribaut, 31. 

Richmond, siege of, 262. 

" capture of, 273. 

Rich Mountain battle of, 218. 
Roanoke Island, 36, 232. 
Rolfe, John, 49. 
Rosecrans, General, 228. 

Sabine Cross Soads, battle of, 365 

Sackett's Harbor, attack on, 163. 

San Francisco, 207. 

Santo Domingo, 290. 

Saratoga, battles of, 123. 

Savage's Station, 239. 

Savannah, 129, 233. 

Schenectady, attack on, 77. 

Schuyler, Fort, 122. 

Scott, General Winfleld, 167, 188, 220. 

Secession of Southern States, 198. 

Seminoles, war with, 177. 

Seven-Days Battles, 239. 

Serapis and Bon Homme Richard, 132. 

Seward, attack on William H., 276. 

Shaw, colored troops of Colonel, 254. 

Shays's rebellion, 143. 

Shenandoah, Jackson in the, 237. 

Sheridan's campaign, 264. 

Sherman's march to the sea, 259. 

Sherman's march through the Carolinab 

271. 
Shiloh, battle of, 225. 
Silver bill, 297. 
Sioux, war with the, 244. 
Slemmer, Lieutenant, 223. 
Smith, John, 46. 
Smith, Kirby, 219, 228. 
Smith, Joseph, 183. 
South Mountain, 241. 
Spain, 153, 173. 
Spottsylvania, battle of, 260. 
Squatter sovereignty, 194, 197. 
Stamp Act, 102, 103. 
Stanton, Edwin M., 284. 
Stanwix, Fort, 122. 
Star of the West, 200. 
Starving Time, 48. 
Steadman, attack on Port, 2T3. 
Steele, Mrs., 138. 
Stephenson, battle of Fort, 164 
Stocks, the, 91. 
Stony Point, capture of, 130. 
Stuart's raid. General, 238. 
Stuyvesant, Peter, 66. 
Sub-Treasury bill, 179. 
Sullivan, General, 119, 130. 
Summary of First Epoch, 41. 

" Second Epoch, 98. 

Third Epoch, 144. 

" Fourth Epoch, 21G 

" Fifth Epoch, 277. 

Sumner, Charles, 195. 
Sumter, General, 134, 13& 



INDEX. 



xlix 



Snmter, Fort, 199, 216, 254. 

Taylor, Zachary, 186, 187, 191. 
Tennessee, admission of, 201. 
" secession of, 217. 

Texas, annexation of, 183. 

" admission of, 205. 

" secession of, liJ8. 
Thames, battle of the, 165. 
Ticonderoga, attacli on, 86. 

"• capture of, 110. 

Tippecanoe, battle of, 159. 
Trent affair, 222. 
Trenton, battle of, 116. 
Tripoli, 157. 
Tyler, John, 181. 

Yalley 2^o>\(/e, winter in, 126. 
Van Buren, Martin, 178. 
Van Dorn, General, 228. 
Vera Cruz, capture of, 188. 
Vermont, admission of, 200. 
Verrazani, 30. 
Vesputius, Americus, 84. 
Vicksburg, 830, 245. 
Virginia, 46, 217. 
Virginia, West, 218. 
Virginias, the, 291. 

'Wctfffie?-, capture of Fort, 254. 
War, Black Hawk, 177. 

" Civil, 215. 

" French and Indian, 81. 

" in Georgia, 246, 256. 

" in Missouri, 221, 230. 

" in Tennessee, 246, 250, 257. 

" in Virginia, 217, 260. 

" in the East, 235, 250-354. 

" in the West, 224, 244-246. 

" King George's, 80. 

" King Philip's, 57. 



War, King William's, 77. 

" of 1812, 160. 

" on sea and coast, 222, 230, 254, 266. 

" Pontiac's, 90. 

" Queen Anne's, 79. 

" Revolutionaiy, 101. 

" the Pequod, 62. 

" with the Creeks, 166. 

" with Mexico, 185. 

" with (Seminoles, 177. 
Wars, Intercolonial, 77. 
Warren, General, 110. 
Washington, George. 81-85, 111, 112, 115 

118, 126, 128, 139, 142, 149. 
Washington by British, capture of, 1G9. 
Washington taken. Fort, 116. 
Washington, treaty of, 289. 
Waxhaw Creek, battle of, 133. 
Wayne, General, 119, 152. 
Webster, Daniel, 192. 
Weldon Railroad, attack on, 263. 
Whisky Insurrection, 152. 
White Plains, battle of, 116. 
Whitney, Eli, 172. 
Wilderness, battle of the, 260. 
Williams, Roger, 56, 62, 64. 
Williamsburg, battle of, 236. 
Wilmot Proviso, 190. 
Wilson's Creek, battle of, 221. 
Winchester, battle of, 264. 
Winthrop, John, 62. 

" Major, 218. 
Wisconsin, admission of, 206. 
Witchcraft, Salem, 60. 
Wolfe, General, 87-89. 
Wyoming, massacre of, 128. 

York, capture of, 163. 
Yorktown, siege of, 235. 

ZolUcoffer, General^ 284 




PBNN'S TREATY TREE. 



